Spending 10.5 billion in 5 years, Mercedes-Benz is stuck in China? | First-line car news

When Mercedes-Benz embarks on "Chinese Speed," perhaps we should re-examine its localization strategy.

In early August, Mercedes-Benz welcomed the first wave of media guests to its research and development center in Shanghai. During the welcome speech, Eddie Wu, Senior Vice President of Research and Development at Mercedes-Benz (China) Investment Co., Ltd., attempted to greet everyone in Chinese.

Eddie Wu admitted, "The Chinese team is playing an increasingly leading role in more and more R&D projects globally, especially in the field of digital innovation. For example, the next-generation rear-seat entertainment system globally is developed by the Chinese team."

When asked how long it took to complete the software development of this system, Eddie Wu proudly stated that it only took 18 months. This is just one example of the speed of Mercedes-Benz in China, with more areas of localization innovation progressing rapidly in sync.

The competition in the intelligent automotive field in China has intensified. The adjustments in pricing strategy by three German luxury brands this year have also led to speculation: Have foreign brands reached a bottleneck in the Chinese market?

However, in the Shanghai R&D center, Mercedes-Benz has made significant investments in intelligent cockpits, autonomous driving, and electrification.

According to data released by Mercedes-Benz: in the past five years, Mercedes-Benz has invested a total of 10.5 billion RMB in R&D in China, with a local R&D team of over 2,000 people. China has built the most comprehensive R&D team outside of Germany.

Now, Mercedes-Benz has also implemented a "dual-engine" layout for innovation and R&D in Beijing and Shanghai: the Shanghai R&D center focuses on cutting-edge areas such as intelligent connectivity, autonomous driving, and software, forming a "dual-engine" layout with the Beijing R&D center.

In the era of intelligent driving, Mercedes-Benz's innovation in China is also empowering the global market. The Chinese R&D team is deeply involved in co-creating the MB.OS architecture, leading the development of intelligent cockpits and autonomous driving functions. Many local R&D innovations are applied to the global market, such as the new plug-in hybrid battery, the new generation of Passenger User Experience (PUX) system, and the technological capabilities co-created with Aito.

In the new energy era, Mercedes-Benz still aims to occupy the technological high ground. Some data shows: by 2023, global R&D investment will exceed 78 billion RMB; the global R&D team will exceed 20,000 people, covering areas such as powertrain, AI intelligence, cloud technology, autonomous driving, and fast charging.

Next, Mercedes-Benz will deploy its phased achievements - L2+ navigation-assisted driving, the new generation of intelligent parking, and the 3rd generation MBUX intelligent human-machine interaction system developed by the Chinese team, on its gasoline and new energy products.

The L2+ navigation-assisted driving took only 12 months from project initiation to formal implementation, becoming the first luxury brand to achieve mass production of "point-to-point" high-speed navigation-assisted driving. Mercedes-Benz has stated that the usage rate of Mercedes-Benz intelligent driving has significantly increased. As of July 2024, 60% of users use L2 intelligent driving and L2+ navigation-assisted driving, with the longest daily intelligent driving distance per vehicle exceeding 1,968 kilometers The new generation of intelligent parking is tailored for Chinese users, more suitable for Chinese parking scenarios, with detailed research and solutions for unmarked and irregular parking spaces. Mercedes-Benz stated that the parking success rate and parking space recognition rate of this feature both exceed 95%.

The 3rd generation MBUX intelligent human-machine interaction system is equipped with the Qualcomm 8295 platform, with an average user penetration rate of 96.7% for voice interaction, and over 50% active users. The MBUX virtual assistant is gradually applying generative AI, large language models, and 3D graphic rendering technology.

By next year, Mercedes-Benz's intelligent driving system will receive a new upgrade, introducing a new generation of autonomous driving system: "Mapless" L2++.

This technology uses an end-to-end large model, L2++ full-scenario advanced intelligent driving that does not rely on high-precision maps. It can achieve point-to-point intelligent driving capabilities from parking at the starting point, passing through urban areas/highways/urban areas, to parking at the destination. Mercedes-Benz emphasizes that this technology is not just a concept and has already started road testing.

In the demonstration, we saw that Mercedes-Benz's L2++ technology already has the ability to handle complex urban scenarios, including traffic light recognition, U-turns, pedestrian and bicycle avoidance, unprotected turns, lane changing with other vehicles, entering and exiting roundabouts, merging onto and off highways, passing through toll booths, and more.

To cater to local users, Mercedes-Benz's "Mapless" L2++ has two main features: first, it is developed entirely based on Chinese driving scenarios and styles, finding a balance between aggressiveness and conservatism; second, it can be used anywhere as long as there is navigation—L2++ can be activated on any road segment planned by navigation. Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz engineers stated: "Safety comes first, and only cities that have been fully tested will be opened to customers."

Furthermore, in the three-electricity field closely related to safety, Mercedes-Benz's new plug-in hybrid battery is the first developed and led by a Chinese research and development team, completed all research and development testing in China, and supplies battery packs globally. Throughout the process, Mercedes-Benz conducted a series of high-intensity tests to ensure that the battery maintains high standards of safety and stability throughout its entire lifecycle.

In the arms race of intelligent electric vehicles, intelligent cockpit, autonomous driving, and three-electric technology are the most critical areas. Mercedes-Benz has made considerable strategic layouts in these areas, and different products will gradually enter mass production.

It can be seen that in the current market environment, the BBA trio is not slowing down, but just getting started. (This article was first published on the Titanium Media App)