Mercedes Benz partners with Google to bring Maps, YouTube into its cars

German automaker Mercedes Benz on Thursday announced a long-term partnership with Google to develop branded navigation for its new MB.OS operating system, as the company is looking for greater control over technology in their vehicles. 

Mercedes-Benz has been working on its own MB.OS operating system for several years now which promises advanced infotainment and safety. That operating system will launch in the next generation of Mercedes vehicles (internally called MMA), which are expected to go into production toward the end of 2024.
With this partnership with Google, Mercedes-Benz will be the first automaker to build its own branded navigation experience based on new in-car data and navigation capabilities from Google Maps Platform, the company said in a statement.  

Sundar Pichai, Chief Executive Officer, of Google, and Alphabet said, "Our partnership with Mercedes-Benz brings advanced technologies from Google Maps Platform, Cloud, and YouTube to help create new experiences for drivers.”  

“In addition to enabling Mercedes-Benz to design a customised navigation interface, we'll provide our AI and data capabilities to accelerate their sustainability efforts, advance autonomous driving, and create an enhanced customer experience," he added. 

Mercedes-Benz will give its customers access to initial new features like Place Details, provided by Google, it said.  

"With our strategic partnership, we are excited to create unique services and to elevate the level of convenience for our customers. It will be deeply integrated within our signature Mercedes-Benz user interface and fully connected to relevant vehicle functions like the state-of-charge," said Ola Källenius, Chief Executive Officer, Mercedes-Benz. 

Not just Mercedes-Benz, other carmakers like General Motors, Renault, Nissan, and Ford have also embedded an entire package of Google services into their vehicles, offering features like Google Maps and Google Assistant, among others. 

Moreover, technology companies are racing to monitor carmakers' dashboards and automated driving features as software becomes an integral part of car design, but some carmakers are worried about allowing tech giants access to their cars' valuable data. 

Self-driving sensor maker Luminar Technologies, in which Mercedes owns a small stake, said in a separate statement it had struck a multi-billion-dollar deal with the carmaker to integrate its sensors across a broad range of its vehicles by mid-decade.  
Luminar, which teamed up with Volvo Cars, announced in January 2022 a hands-free driving system called "Ride Pilot". It will now supply the Mercedes-Benz with light detection and ranging sensors (LIDARS). These sensors use laser light pulses to measure the distance and are widely seen as essential to achieving fully autonomous driving.