- Mercedes-Benz tapped a new supplier for advanced driver-assistance systems, the UK's Wayve.
- Wayve touts an end-to-end approach to automated driving that does not require HD maps.
- The companies plan to deploy a Wayve-based point-to-point driving assistant in Mercedes vehicles within two years.
Future Mercedes-Benz vehicles will use driver-assistance technology powered by Wayve, a UK-based autonomous-driving startup, the companies announced on Tuesday. The deal to use Wayve's "AI Driver" will enable "advanced urban point-to-point driving assistance"—which sounds a lot like what Tesla offers with Full Self-Driving (Supervised)—in Mercedes cars starting within the next two years.
The announcement was short on details surrounding the new feature, which markets it will be deployed in, or which vehicles it will land in first. What's also unclear is how this new deal fits in with Mercedes-Benz's existing collaboration with Nvidia to deliver its own point-to-point system.
Last year, Mercedes demonstrated MB.Drive Assist Pro, an Nvidia-based system that promises to drive all the way to a destination under driver supervision, while navigating pedestrians, traffic lights, and other complex scenarios. The CLA is on sale, but MB.Drive Assist Pro hasn't landed in customer hands yet. Wayve counts Mercedes as an investor, and said that this deal "builds on a multi-year technical partnership."
Mercedes was a pioneer in radar-based cruise control that modulates vehicle speed in response to the vehicle ahead. It launched its Distronic system on the S-Class in the late 1990s. In 2023, Mercedes also began selling America's first (and so far only) driver-assistance system that didn't require driver supervision all the time, Drive Pilot. It could operate hands- and eyes-free on certain highways in California and Nevada at low speeds, making it the country's first Level 3 software.
Now Tesla seems to be the one to beat, as auto companies increasingly chase the kind of point-to-point driving assistant that Elon Musk pioneered with FSD. Earlier this year, Mercedes paused the expansion of Drive Pilot as it shifted focus to its point-to-point project with Nvidia.
Rivian plans to launch a point-to-point upgrade to its Autonomy+ system this year. Toyota reportedly plans to sell its own Level 2++ feature in 2028. Hyundai has tapped Nvidia for Level 2+ capability in the near term, as it works on an in-house Atria AI system later this decade. Lucid, too, is working with Nvidia.
Wayve has become another significant player in this new era of driver assistance. Over the last year, the startup has struck deals to put its technology in vehicles from Stellantis and Nissan.
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