Autonomous driving will play a central role in the mobility of the future. In the race for market leadership, automobile manufacturers and service providers are looking for the best and most innovative solutions. At a time when expertise and speed are of the essence, it is therefore important to enter into unusual partnerships in order to strengthen each other and exploit each other’s advantages. One example is Daimler and Uber, who are working together on the future of self-propelled cars and have now brought BMW on board.
Daimler, BMW and Uber – Using the advantages of competition and shaping the future
When the cooperation between Uber and Daimler was announced some time ago, this may have been surprising for some. Uber and Daimler are competitors in a sense, but they also offer a high synergy factor for each other. Uber has developed technologies for autonomous cars in the past and is far more than the transport company for which it has become famous. The service is already working with Volvo and Ford. Daimler and Mercedes have also put a lot of work into this area of self-propelled cars. Just last month, a third player came on board. BMW, a strong competitor of Daimler, will now work together with its partners on the future of autonomous driving. Since the beginning of 2019, the two automotive groups have been working on a joint development alliance. The cooperation agreement was signed in July.
Is this the beginning of a dream team? Experience in recent years has shown that Uber and Daimler have complemented each other very well. You could say they are complementary when it comes to collaboration in the innovation sector. By combining the technological strengths of Daimler and Uber, many people can use a reliable means of transport that combines the best of both worlds at the touch of a button. It’s all about the intelligent combination of autonomous technology, in which Daimler is already very advanced, and a central platform for vehicles, one of which is operated by Uber.
This combination of the strengths of both partners enables them to dominate the market faster and to outperform the competition. In addition, users who already use Uber can easily continue to use the service to order self-propelled Daimler/Uber cars. No new app is necessary and the entry hurdle is very low. Conversely, Mercedes/Daimler drivers abroad can quickly fall back on the already familiar driving comfort. All thanks to the collaborative platform.
The cooperation between BMW and Daimler, on the other hand, is going in a different direction. Their cooperation on the technology of the future should make new systems possible, but above all create a market. The cooperation of the major automobile manufacturers should accelerate the market launch of autonomous driving and increase acceptance among the population more quickly.
All partnerships in the field of autonomous driving come at exactly the right time. The moment to invest in such partnerships to create completely new mobility solutions must now be taken in the initial phase of self-propelled cars. There is no point in competitors trying to play each other off. The future of the new generation of cars must be worked on together in order to make it efficient and safe. New sales models must also be developed. Current statistics show that the ownership of one’s own car will fall by up to 80% by 2030. Through new business models and the use of innovative technologies such as autonomous driving, the partners Uber, BMW and Daimler can continue to hold their own in a world driven by the megatrend of the Sharing Economy and create a new market environment.
