AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES
Mercedes and Bosch to develop robotaxis
The pact between leading motor industry players forms a powerful counterweight to new motor industry players
Frankfurt — Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler and supplier Robert Bosch are teaming up to develop self-driving cars in an alliance primarily aimed at accelerating the production of robotaxis. The pact between the world’s largest maker of premium cars and the world’s largest automotive supplier forms a powerful counterweight to new motor industry players such as ride-hailing firms Uber and Didi, which are also working on self-driving cars. Tech companies and car makers are preparing for a new way of doing business in the car industry as customers use smartphones to locate, hail and rent vehicles, rather than going out and buying a car. "The prime objective of the project is … the production-ready development of a driving system, which will allow cars to drive fully autonomously in the city," Daimler said. The car maker has set its sights on the smartphone-based ride-hailing market, currently dominated by China’s Didi, and US-based Uber and Lyft. In 2016, Goldman Sachs projected the market...
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