All future Mercedes vehicles will be equipped with Nvidia Corp.’s autonomous driving software, starting with the 2024 models.
Nvidia’s Drive software and chips will give Mercedes-Benz vehicles the most “sophisticated and advanced computing architecture ever used in an automobile,” the companies said at the announcement in late June.
Nvidia, based in California, is looking to parlay its dominance of computer graphics into a leading position in the automotive market. This new system will feature updates through software, which will allow owners to configure their vehicles in the same way that they customize their smartphones. In addition, the system will provide remote safety and maintenance updates and give manufacturers a way to sell services after the vehicle has been purchased.
“Nvidia’s AI computing architecture will help us streamline our journey toward autonomous driving,” said Ola Källenius, chairman of the board of management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG.
Using the Nvidia Drive platform, a primary feature will be the ability to automate driving of regular routes from one address to another. Future safety and convenience applications will be added so customers can purchase through software applications and subscription services during the life of the vehicle.
“These new capabilities and upgrades will be downloaded from the cloud, improving safety, increasing value and extending the joy of ownership for all Mercedes-Benz customers,” Källenius told Bloomberg.
Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, in Vance, Alabama, makes the GLS and GLE SUVs and the GLE Coupe. The plant, which began production in 1997, employs more than 3,800 team members making vehicles that are distributed to 135 markets worldwide. About two-thirds of the SUVs made in Tuscaloosa County are exported.
