The Mercedes-Benz premium brand offers you a wide product portfolio - from compact to luxury vehicles. And the variety continues to grow: in the coming years, Mercedes-Benz will expand and renew its range of vehicles in all segments.
Since the first automobile, the Benz Patent Motor Car in 1886, Mercedes-Benz has stood for important automotive innovations. These include, for example, the passenger safety cell with crumple zone, the airbag and intelligent assistance systems. Mercedes-Benz applies for nearly 2000 patents per year, making the brand the European leader among premium car makers.
Development focuses on emission-free, accident-free and automated driving:
Mercedes-Benz is massively picking up the pace with regard to the electrification of the automobile. By 2022, the entire Mercedes-Benz Cars product range is set to be electrified. This means that different electrified alternatives will be available in every segment – from smart to large SUV. There are plans for well in excess of 130 electrified vehicle variants, from 48-volt models to a wide range of plug-in hybrids to all-electric vehicles.
Bosch and Daimler have reached a milestone on the way to automated driving: The two companies have obtained approval from the relevant authorities in Baden-Württemberg for their automated parking system in the Mercedes-Benz Museum parking garage in Stuttgart in July 2019. The automated valet parking service is accessed via a smartphone app and requires no safety driver. In addition, Mercedes-Benz is pushing ahead significantly with the complete networking of cars with their environment.
Electric drive systems and automated driving are key technologies for the mobility of the future. This leads to changes in the requirements for in-car safety technology: firstly, much more flexible seating positions in the interior of such vehicles require a different form of occupant protection. And secondly, empathy and trust are central factors for the acceptance of self-driving vehicles. Other road users must be able to recognise intuitively what an automated vehicle intends to do, as in many situations there will be no driver to communicate this. With the new Experimental Safety Vehicle ESF 2019, Mercedes-Benz is giving an insight into the ideas that the company's safety experts are researching and working on.
