How Mercedes is catching up in robo-cars race
munich — Three decades ago, an experimental Mercedes-Benz van managed to steer, brake and accelerate on its own. But after the technology was refined enough to put an S-Class sedan through its paces on a highway around Paris in 1994, it was largely set aside as commercially unviable.
Now, the prospect of autonomous vehicles is threatening to upend the auto industry, and instead of an enviable head start, Mercedes is just part of the pack in the race to roll out robo-cars. That’s a thorn in the side for Dieter Zetsche, head of the storied brand and CEO of parent Daimler.
Zetsche, who started in the industrial giant’s research division in 1976, is spurring Daimler to regain that edge. In 2015, he unveiled the
It’s very, very important to be one of the first with self-driving cars, because the technology is threatening to overturn carmakers’ core business Jan Burgard, head of Beryll Strategy Advisors
futuristic self-driving F 015 concept car and prodded developers by moving forward targets for introducing the technology several times in recent years, he said. Positioning Mercedes for the self-driving era could prove a crucial last act for the 64-year-old Zetsche, whose contract runs until 2019.
“It’s very, very important to be one of the first with self-driving cars, because the technology is threatening to overturn carmakers’ core business,” said Jan Burgard, the head of Beryll Strategy Advisors, a Munichbased automotive consulting firm. “To be among the first means to be in a much better position to assess the threat, and in particular shape future development.”
For the crowded field of competitors, ranging from traditional carmakers to cash-rich newcomers from Silicon Valley, the lure is clear. The emergence of autonomous vehicles marks the biggest potential change to personal transport since cars replaced the horse and buggy, and that disruption may grow into a market worth $83 billion by 2025, consulting firm Frost & Sullivan estimates.
“Having a car drive by itself under certain conditions is, figuratively speaking, just around the corner,” said Zetsche, who was Mercedes’ top development engineer at the time of the Paris self-driving test.
In an industry dominated by model cycles that generally last seven years, Zetsche is accelerating development. Last year, he set up a skunkworks unit where hundreds of engineers collaborate on electric, self-driving cars as well as alternatives to the personal car such as ride-sharing and robo-taxis.