Mercedes partners with Google to bring Maps and YouTube into its vehicles

Mercedes-Benz and Google have struck a long-term partnership designed to give the German automaker management over its IP and market whereas providing drivers navigation, maps and YouTube supplied by the tech big.

It’s an uncommon deal that makes an attempt to strike a Goldilocks-type stability between providing the Google providers shoppers need with out ceding management over the complete working system within the automotive.

“It is a licensing settlement that may be a “win-win” for each events,” Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius mentioned throughout a press briefing Wednesday throughout an occasion at its analysis and improvement middle in Sunnyvale, California. “We’re the total architects of the stack.”

Calling it a licensing settlement is correct, however maybe downplays the connection. The partnership will bring the Google Maps platform, Cloud and YouTube into future Mercedes-Benz vehicles outfitted with the automaker’s nest-generation working system referred to as MB.OS. Mercedes may have entry to Google’s geospatial providing, together with detailed details about locations, real-time and predictive visitors info and automated rerouting. Mercedes-Benz will use Google Maps knowledge to allow assisted driving options corresponding to automated pace changes earlier than intersections, roundabouts or curves.

However as Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai famous the partnership will lengthen past this.  

“As well as to enabling Mercedes-Benz to design a personalized navigation interface, we’ll present our AI and knowledge capabilities to speed up their sustainability efforts, advance autonomous driving, and create an enhanced buyer expertise,” Pichai mentioned in an announcement.

Mercedes-Benz has been engaged on its personal MB.OS working system for a number of years now. That working system will launch within the next-generation of Mercedes vehicles (internally referred to as MMA), that are anticipated to go into manufacturing in direction of the top of 2024.

Mercedes mentioned it has constructed the Linux-based system on its personal, and designed it in a means that may help third-party apps and providers like these supplied by Google. As an example, Mercedes mentioned it plans to construct its personal branded navigation utilizing new in-car geospatial knowledge and navigation capabilities from Google Maps Platform.

Nonetheless, clients gained’t have to wait years to expertise the primary fruits of the partnership. Mercedes mentioned Wednesday that beginning in the present day, the automaker will give clients entry to preliminary new options like Place Particulars, supplied by Google. The brand new function will likely be supplied through an over-the-air software program replace.

The precursor to MB.OS may also present up later this 12 months within the new Mercedes E Class. In that system, clients will likely be ready to entry apps like Tiktok and Zoom from the automotive’s infotainment system.

The top recreation is excessive stakes. Mercedes desires its MB.OS to be so compelling, drivers now not choose to use middleware merchandise like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which mirrors their smartphones to the automotive’s infotainment system.

“I imply, that’s that’s the last word objective of MB.OS finally, it is going to create a buyer expertise so there’s no want to plug in your cellphone.” CTO Markus Schäfer mentioned Wednesday on the occasion.