Mercedes-Benz, a leading German luxury automaker, and Doubao, the large language model under ByteDance, announced deepened cooperation recently. The next-generation all-electric CLA model will be equipped with Doubao’s intelligent cockpit, marking a key move for traditional luxury carmakers in the in-car AI era.
Cooperation Details Unveiled
The collaboration between Mercedes and Doubao is not a simple tech supplier relationship. It represents Mercedes’ effort to advance its intelligent transformation amid the booming smart car market. As Chinese domestic brands gain strength in intelligent cockpits and advanced driver assistance systems, traditional luxury brands like Mercedes face growing competition.
The new partnership aims to address Mercedes’ intelligent experience gaps. Users have previously reported issues with Mercedes’ infotainment systems, such as slow response times and rigid operation logic, which disconnect from their daily mobile internet usage. McKinsey research shows that intelligence level has become an increasingly important factor in car purchase decisions.
Mercedes’ Market Challenges
In the third quarter of this year, Mercedes saw significant declines in both global sales and deliveries in the Chinese market. The slump is widely linked to its lag in intelligent development. In June, Mercedes owners across multiple regions in China collectively reported infotainment system failures, further pressuring the brand.
To tackle these challenges, Mercedes has accelerated its transformation in China, increasing investment and launching more market-specific models. The partnership with Doubao is viewed as a crucial attempt to enhance its intelligent capabilities.
Doubao’s Role in the Partnership
Doubao is expected to bring three key benefits to Mercedes. First, it will help fill gaps in infotainment interaction and scenario linkage, upgrading Mercedes’ intelligence in line with the “intelligence defines luxury” trend. Second, leveraging ByteDance‘s platforms like Douyin and TikTok, Doubao understands young users’ preferences, aiding Mercedes in reshaping its brand image and connecting with the new generation of consumers. Third, collaborating with a mature large model like Doubao reduces R&D risks and improves efficiency, avoiding the long timelines and high risks of independent development to speed up product launches.
However, industry observers note that Mercedes’ challenges cannot be fully solved by this single partnership. Competitors have already laid out plans in in-car AI, including Baidu, Alibaba Cloud, and Huawei. The intelligent advantages Mercedes gains through this cooperation may soon be matched by peers, meaning Mercedes still needs independent intelligent foundations in the long run.
In-Car AI Industry Trends
By 2025, AI and large models have become “new selling points” in the automotive industry, with frequent news of deep cooperation between AI companies and carmakers. The in-car AI sector shows a trend of integration across four areas: intelligent driving AI, intelligent cockpit AI, vehicle management AI, and connected car AI.
A notable imbalance exists in resource allocation within in-car AI, with more focus on intelligent driving and less on cockpits. Yet, intelligent cockpits are the most perceptible scenario for users. As consumers’ awareness of intelligent car features grows, AI companies are intensifying competition in this field, with giants like ByteDance, Alibaba, Tencent, and Huawei all entering the space. Doubao’s partnerships with Tesla and Mercedes help solidify its position in in-car AI.
At the industrial level, cross-border cooperation between carmakers and AI companies is blurring their positional boundaries. Tensions over leadership and core interests have emerged, creating a new “coopetition” dynamic that is reshaping the global automotive industry landscape. Traditional carmakers that introduce external AI capabilities risk hollowing out their R&D capacities, while AI companies face implicit struggles with carmakers over data accumulation. Neither side is willing to lose its leading position in the partnership.
