Mercedes on their way to become a software company, says CEO

Future Mercedes cars will come with an entertainment centre with access to gaming, social media, video conferencing and many other third-party apps.

Ola Kallenius, CEO of Mercedes-Benz, recently stated that the company is on their way to also becoming a software company. The German carmaker wants to put "supercomputer-like performance" into every single Mercedes, allowing customers to stream movies, play games and get on a Zoom call via a set of displays that span the entire dash.

Kallenius stated that the company is working with various partners to offer a myriad of features and services. This includes more infotainment options via large screens running the brand's proprietary MB.OS platform. The new in-house operating system is said to debut by the end of 2024 and will help make in-car technology better over time. The OS though does use technologies from partners like NVIDIA and Google Maps.

Markus Schafer, CTO of Mercedes-Benz, stated that the company is deliberately moving away from making the car's infotainment an extension to users' phones. He added, "the goal isn't to mirror a user's phone, but to offer a great customer experience so there's no need to plug-in a device."

Future Mercedes cars will come with an entertainment centre with access to gaming, social media, video conferencing and many other third-party apps. This is said to be via giant pillar-to-pillar screens and separate displays for passengers with privacy technology.

Reports state that while the EQ range already comes with the brand's hyperscreen, it will soon trickle down to Mercedes' ICE-powered cars as well, along with the proprietary MB.OS platform.

Source: Robb Report