The Mercedes-Benz Circle of Excellence holds events for members and offers preferred status at elite hotels. One of Germanys most storied industrial icons just became more Chinese.Daimler AGs Chinese partner, state-backed Beijing Automotive Group Co., is buying a 5-per-cent stake in the Mercedes-Benz maker, cementing a more than decade-long alliance of the auto manufacturers.Together with Daimlers top shareholder Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co.s billionaire owner Li Shufu the transaction would take Chinese ownership in the worlds biggest luxury-car maker to almost 15 per cent.This step reinforces our successful partnership and is a signal of trust in the strategy and future potential of our company, Daimler Chief Executive Officer Ola Kallenius said.BAICs investment another sign of the fast-changing global car industry with deepening partnerships and deals with rivals. Margins at the core Mercedes-Benz cars division are expected to fall as low as 3 per cent this year, trailing typically lower-returning mass-market carmakers.About half of the stake being taken by BAIC, which is backed by Beijings municipal government, is via rights to acquire shares and the remainder via financial instruments, according to a statement. The 5-per-cent holding has a market value of about 2.5 billion euros (US$2.8 billion) as of Monday close.Another Chinese shareholder at one of Germanys automotive giants could stir concerns about influence in the country, while carmakers already battle a trade war that has left global shipments of cars at the mercy of tit-for-tat tariff measures. China and the U.S. are the two largest markets for Mercedes-Benz. BAICs transaction also raises the question of whether Daimler and BAIC may reorganize their joint venture in China after restrictions for foreign investors in the worlds largest auto market eased.For its part, BAIC views the purchase as a natural evolution of its relationship with Daimler.It has been our intention to strengthen our alliance with Daimler through an investment, said Heyi Xu, chairman of BAIC. This step reinforces our alignment with, and strong support for, Daimlers management and strategy.Daimler is exploring additional cooperation projects with Geely, former CEO Dieter Zetsche said at the companys annual general meeting in May and sought to allay concerns about potential conflicts with BAIC. His successor Kallenius said in January hes open to talk about more collaboration with industry peers and technology firms to share surging development cost.Since 2003, BAIC and Daimler have set up a number of cooperations in China, including the joint venture Beijing Benz Automotive Company that produces premium cars in the country, as well as separate entities that make vans and trucks. Daimler has held a 9.6-per-cent stake in the BAICs Hong Kong-listed unit, BAIC Motor Corp., since
Origin: China’s BAIC takes 5-per-cent stake in Daimler to boost partnership
Daimler
BMW and Daimler will sell self-driving cars by 2024
Daimler AG und BMW Group starten langfristige Entwicklungskooperation für automatisiertes Fahren. Daimler AG and BMW Group start long-term cooperation for automated driving.BMW BMW and Daimler announced early July theyre teaming up to bring their joint self-driving technology efforts to dealerships in less than five years.In February, the long-time rivals in the sports sedan market partnered up to develop autonomous vehicle technology that both companies would implement into their own vehicles.Now, the two automotive giants have said their plan is to have Level 4 self-driving cars ready to sell for 2024.Level 4 systems can operate without a driver in some conditions and safely stop the car in the event that the driver is unable to take control. Level 5 autonomous driving is the real goal; its at that point vehicles are able to behave and react like humans, but that level isnt expected to materialize until the end of the next decade at the earliest.For now, the vehicles will be expected to be able to handle highway driving, as well as parking. Urban areas and city centres are also in the works. As for actual vehicle implementation, the two brands are planning on making the technology scalable, which means that multiple vehicles will be able to use the same system. The sensors, computers, cloud data storage and software that controls it will be licensed out to other firms once its completed.The timeline seems to be moving along rapidly, but the brands havent forgotten about the most important thing when it comes to self-driving cars: safety. BMW and Daimler, as well as other companies, recently published a paper entitled Safety First for Automated Driving, which lays out the guidelines for safety methods and development for Level 3 and 4
Origin: BMW and Daimler will sell self-driving cars by 2024
For Daimler CEO Zetsche, retirement means embracing a forbidden love for BMWs
Dr. Dieter Zetsche, chairman of the board of management Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars addresses the media before the automaker unveils the new C-Class car during a preview night for the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.Carlos Osorio Retirement means harvesting the fruits of lifelong labor, trying out new things, and not giving a damn what others think. For Daimler Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche, who stepped down on Wednesday, that spells out as a three-letter word: BMW. In a clip distributed on BMW’s Twitter feed, a camera follows a Zetsche lookalike – complete with signature walrus mustache and rimless spectacles – around on his last day at work. There’s Zetsche handing in his work badge at the front desk, bidding farewell to employees in the lobby with a few selfies, before being whisked back home by a chauffeured black Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan. After the car drops him off and leaves, Zetsche sneaks into the double garage, only to emerge at the wheel of a flaming-orange open-top BMW i8 sports car to roar off his compound. The caption: Free at Last. The clip ends with a note of gratitude, saying “Thank you, Dieter Zetsche, for so many years of inspiring competition,” followed by the BMW emblem and the carmaker’s slogan: Sheer Driving Pleasure. The lighthearted display of humor on the part of Daimler’s fiercest rival highlights how the two carmakers have embraced a more cooperative approach of late, culminating in a joint car-sharing business and a pledge to work on autonomous cars. Both companies, like much of the industry, are bound together by the same challenges: the emergence of self-driving and electric rivals, new competitors like Tesla, a simmering trade war with the U.S. and changing consumer tastes on owning cars in favor of sharing them. Zetsche is stepped down at the company’s annual general meeting May 23, and will be succeeded by Ola
Origin: For Daimler CEO Zetsche, retirement means embracing a forbidden love for BMWs
Autocar Awards 2019: Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche wins Issigonis Award for extraordinary achievements in motoring
It’s likely no boss at Daimler will wear a tie to a middle-ranking business meeting again. In 2015 the company’s long-serving, high-achieving CEO Dr Dieter Zetsche – winner of this year’s Issigonis Trophy, Autocar’s highest accolade – gave up neckware for meetings. His acolytes gratefully followed suit. Even after four years people still remark on this apocalyptic change at least as much as they do about the Mercedes CEO’s far more significant corporate achievements – such as demerging the company from a disastrous Chrysler alliance, changing company culture, surviving the worst of Dieselgate despite a huge recall of Mercedes models, beating BMW in 2016, vigorously embracing the new electrification age and leaving the company in a well-founded and profitable condition, stuffed with ideas to face the future. utocar Awards 2019: The
Origin: Autocar Awards 2019: Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche wins Issigonis Award for extraordinary achievements in motoring
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