They are bitter rivals in the luxury segment – nevertheless, Daimler and BMW want to make robotic cars together according to a report. What is behind the planned cooperation?
Electric cars from Mercedes and BMW
Monday, 21.01.2019
17:27 clock
Until recently, such partnerships were almost unimaginable: a BMW engineer needed no help, least of all from arch-rival Daimler. Now, however, the two premium manufacturers are looking to join forces because of growing competition from the Silicon Valley and want in the future in the development of autonomous driving systems make common cause, The answers to the most important questions.
What is planned?
The two bitter rivals seem to be considering extensive cooperation in autonomous driving. Daimler development chief Ola Källenius and BMW boss Harald Krüger had led appropriate discussions, reports the “Handelsblatt” from circles of both companies. A review of the development activities will be examined. Even patents could disclose the two competing companies to each other. The goal is to reduce the billions in development costs and develop a common industry standard. BMW and Daimler have announced their own models for 2021, which can at least temporarily drive autonomously on motorways.
The two automakers also want to work closer together on the subject of battery cells for electric cars. Like BMW, Daimler wants to obtain its energy storage from CATL. The market for electric cars is tense. Raw material costs are rising because the demand for cells is high. Just three manufacturers dominate the business: CATL in China, LG Chem in the rest of the world and Panasonic as a partner of Toyota and Tesla. Perhaps the two German premium manufacturers want to counter the battery giant from China with their joint alliance with one vote – because sometimes demands hefty prices.
Why do the two rivals come together?
Both the bosses of Daimler and BMW should be clear that the best years of the German noble manufacturers are over for the time being. Sales are stagnating, profits are shrinking, share prices are in a constant low.
The challenges are huge because autonomously driving robot cars could radically threaten the business model of both premium manufacturers. Because replacing drivers with new technologies would reduce the cost of taxi rides in a city by 70 percent. Whether it still needs BMW or Daimler in such a scenario is questionable.
So far, the two premium brands are fighting for their own account to prevent this. BMW is working with Intel and Ford, investing billions in the development of an autonomous vehicle that will be able to manage long distances without drivers on motorways in 2021. Daimler has joined forces with Bosch for a similar project.
But the currently discussed cooperation of the two gems would go far beyond all previous projects. Perhaps the two manufacturers put their uniqueness at risk for a while. For the mobility concepts of the future are not about engine performance and driving pleasure, but about safety and networking. “Whether there is a Daimler star or a BMW propeller on it, will not be so important,” said car expert Stefan Bratzel recently the “Handelsblatt”.
Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier hopes that the German auto industry will occupy a leading position in autonomous driving. “We have all the knowledge about how to design a car, how to solve technical problems,” said the CDU politician this Monday at the Innovation Conference DLD in Munich. This must now be linked with data and artificial intelligence. “My ambition is that Germany should be ahead.”
Which competitors are there?
The German manufacturers have increasingly strong competitors from the Silicon Valley as the Google subsidiary Waymo, which invested billions in the development of autonomous driving. The company does not want to build cars on its own but supply the operating system for self-driving cars. Google could set the standard for autonomous vehicles.
Even the Chinese counterpart Baidu could be dangerous to German manufacturers. The Chinese also rely on an open platform in the Apollo project that can become the operating system for the entire industry, an “Android for autonomous driving”. Around 90 partners now have the Apollo initiative, including Ford, Microsoft and other big names.
So in the future it will be all about who uses which platform. When BMW and Daimler jointly develop an industry standard for autonomous driving, there is an increased chance of achieving this in Europe or in the USA. But that should be difficult, because even an alliance of Daimler and BWW would probably be too small to arrive against large volume manufacturers.
How do other manufacturers react to the new competitors?
Other automakers are forging alliances to assert themselves in the market for robotic vehicles. Volkswagen recently announced its cooperation with the US startup Aurora, which develops autonomous driver assistance systems. Together we want to bring self-driving cars on the market. Also, the Korean manufacturer Hyundai has a partnership with Aurora.
Toyota is currently investing millions in Uber vehicle service to jointly drive the development of self-driving cars. Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi have announced to offer by 2022 according to own statements 15 teilautonomous vehicles and a completely autonomous car.
Opel-Mutter PSA entered into a cooperation with the US start-up nuTonomy in 2017 to develop autonomous vehicles. The company is already testing the first self-driving cars in Singapore.
Is the cooperation between BMW and Daimler unique?
Even if they turn out to be hard competitors – BMW and Daimler have been cooperating for years in different areas. Taken alone, the manufacturers are too small to build, develop or buy all the vehicle components themselves. Together, you can save a lot of money.
The corporations often do not like to talk openly about details because they want to be perceived as independent. Not much is known, for example, about the purchasing cooperation of the companies, which already exists since 2008. First, they jointly procured parts in the US and China to cut costs. It was about Gurtroller, windows and air conditioning – all parts that drivers do not see. In addition came tires, seat frames and small parts such as harness connectors or belt tensioners, which are found in the same or similar form in Mercedes cars and BMWs.
Somewhat more talkative are the manufacturers in the big issues of the future. For car sharing, parking space search, electromobility and more BMW and Daimler have even founded a joint venture. This is how the short-term rental car providers Car2Go (Daimler) and DriveNow (BMW) want to merge. A common app is to bundle the offer with other services such as bicycle rental, taxi search or information on public transport. Together, the companies want to reach six million users.