The world is rapidly changing as megatrends transform our lives. Consequently, business models are changing as disruptors break-down norms. “The great transformations that the automotive industry is currently undergoing pose great opportunities to shape the future in lasting ways. One thing is clear, the proven recipes for the success of yesterday, will not be the recipes for the success of tomorrow,” says Johannes Fritz, Co-CEO of Mercedes-Benz South Africa and Executive Director of Mercedes-Benz Cars.
“At Mercedes-Benz, we believe that the key ingredient to achieving success in the future is to best connect the dots in this new era. We have clustered the challenges of this new era, and developed the CASE corporate strategy as our intelligent response,” Fritz continues.
CASE is an acronym for the fields of networking (Connected), autonomous driving (Autonomous), flexible use (Shared & Services) and electric drive systems (Electric). CASE forms an integral part of Daimler AG’s vision to shape intuitive electric mobility.
Mercedes-Benz Cars already plays a leading role in all four areas today. For example, all activities in the area of connectivity are focused on the digital brand Mercedes me, which gives customers access to an extensive and personalised range of services by app, website or straight from their car.
On the way to autonomous driving, Mercedes-Benz has for years been a key driver of development and has repeatedly set the benchmark. To this end, the Mercedes engineers use what is known as sensor fusion. The data from different sensors, such as cameras, ultrasound and radar, are intelligently combined and analysed. With smart vision EQ fortwo, the smart brand is also demonstrating what driving without a steering wheel could look like in the future of car-sharing.
The inventor of the automobile is already playing a leading role in the field of Sharing & Services. The mobility services used by over 14.5 million people range from free-floating car-sharing (car2go) and private peer-to-peer car-sharing (Croove), through ride-hailing (mytaxi) to the mobility platform (moovel).
