Uber and Daimler have announced a partnership that will add self-driving cars to Uber’s ridesharing fleet.
Which means your next Uber ride in a self-driving vehicle may not be a Volvo, but rather a Mercedes-Benz. The two companies have announced an agreement on their intent to cooperate on the supply and operation of self-driving vehicles. As a result of the cooperation, Daimler will introduce autonomous vehicles on Uber’s global ridesharing network in the coming years. Although Uber has been testing self-driving Volvo SUVs in California, Daimler is the first automaker to officially join with Uber.
Uber CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick admitted in a blog post that the partnership with Daimler will allow Uber to “get to the future faster than going it alone.” Kalanick acknowledges just how difficult it is to manufacture cars, having visited an auto manufacturing plant and seeing how much effort goes into designing, testing and building cars.
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There’s no clear timetable to when Uber and Mercedes-Benz plans on offering self-driving cars to the ridesharing group, but along with Uber’s Advanced Technology Group testing self-driving vehicles in the U.S., Uber’s Otto division is working on self-driving trucks. It may not be that long before your next Uber drives itself while you relax in a luxurious Mercedes-Benz.
“As the inventor of the automobile, Daimler aims to be a leader in autonomous driving – one of the most fascinating aspects of reinventing mobility,” said Dieter Zetsche, chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars. “Mobility service providers offer an ideal platform for autonomous driving technology and Uber is a leading mobility platform company. The real revolution in future mobility lies in intelligently linking the four major trends we call CASE: connectivity, autonomous driving, sharing and electric mobility. And we will certainly be the driver of these changes.”
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