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Uber Strikes Deal With Daimler to Add Self Driving Mercedes Benz to Fleet

Uber Strikes Deal With Daimler to Add Self-Driving Mercedes-Benz to Fleet 211f36

By Reuters | Updated: 1 February 2017 10:21 IST

Highlights

Daimler plans to incorporate its self-driving Mercedes-Benz into Uber
Daimler is the first auto company to Uber
Unlike the Volvo deal, Uber will not own or manage the Daimler cars

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Uber Technologies Inc has signed another deal with a major automaker as the popular ride service accelerates efforts to build out one of the world's first fleets of autonomous vehicles. 5q546

self-driving cars.

Uber did not offer a specific timeline. Daimler is the first auto company to Uber as it opens up its platform for manufacturers to introduce their own self-driving cars.

Relationships with automakers are imperative to the San Francisco company's self-driving car efforts. Although the ride-hailing service is pouring resources into developing autonomous technology - a key component of its business strategy to rely less on human drivers - it is not equipped to build the cars itself.

"Auto manufacturers like Daimler are crucial to our strategy because Uber has no experience making cars - and in fact, making cars is really hard," Uber Chief Executive Travis Kalanick said in a blog post.

Such alliances are increasingly common between automakers and startups, as more traditional vehicle manufacturers perceive Silicon Valley firms as threats to their industry.

Uber has $300 million deal between the two companies to develop autonomous cars together. The Volvos are equipped with self-driving technology created by Uber.

However, unlike the Volvo deal, Uber will not own or manage the Daimler cars, and it will not be involved in the research and development of the self-driving technology for those cars.

Rather, it is opening up its fleet to include Mercedes-Benz cars.

An Uber spokesman declined to comment on financial of the agreement.

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