Luminar (Nasdaq: LAZR), a leading global automotive technology company, announced today a sweeping expansion of its partnership with Mercedes-Benz to safely enable enhanced automated driving capabilities across a broad range of next-generation production vehicle lines as part of the automaker’s next-generation lineup. Luminar’s Iris entered its first series production in October 2022 and the company’s Mercedes-Benz program has successfully completed the initial phase and the associated milestones.
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After two years of close collaboration between the two companies, Mercedes-Benz now plans to integrate the next generation of Luminar’s Iris lidar and its associated software technology across a broad range of its next-generation production vehicle lines by mid-decade. The performance of the next-generation Iris is tailored to meet the demanding requirements of Mercedes-Benz for a new conditionally automated driving system that is planned to operate at higher speed for freeways, as well as for enhanced driver assistance systems for urban environments. It will also be simplifying the design integration with a sleeker profile. This multi-billion dollar deal is a milestone moment for the two companies and the industry and is poised to substantially enhance the technical capabilities and safety of conditionally automated driving systems.
“Mercedes’ standards for vehicle safety and performance are among the highest in the industry, and their decision to double down on Luminar reinforces that commitment,” said Austin Russell, Founder and CEO of Luminar. “We are now set to enable the broadest scale deployment of this technology in the industry. It’s been an incredible sprint so far, and we are fully committed to making this happen – together with Mercedes-Benz.”
“In a first step we have introduced a Level 3 system in our top line models. Next, we want to implement advanced automated driving features in a broader scale within our portfolio,” said Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes Benz Group AG and Chief Technology Officer, Development & Procurement. “I am convinced that Luminar is a great partner to help realize our vision and roadmap for automated and accident-free driving.”
About Luminar
Luminar is a global automotive technology company ushering in a new era of vehicle safety and autonomy. For the past decade, Luminar has built an advanced hardware and software platform to enable its more than 50 industry partners, including the majority of global automotive OEMs. From Volvo Cars for consumer vehicles and Daimler Truck AG for commercial trucks, to tech partners NVIDIA and Intel’s Mobileye, Luminar is the first automotive technology company to enable next-generation safety and autonomous capabilities for production vehicles. For more information please visit www.luminartech.com.
Mercedes-Benz AG at a glance
Mercedes-Benz AG is responsible for the global business of Mercedes-Benz Cars and Mercedes-Benz Vans, with over 170,000 employees worldwide. Ola Källenius is Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz AG. The company focuses on the development, production and sales of passenger cars, vans and vehicle-related services. Furthermore, the company aspires to be the leader in the fields of electric mobility and vehicle software. The product portfolio comprises the Mercedes-Benz brand with the brands of Mercedes-AMG, Mercedes-Maybach, Mercedes-EQ, G-Class and the smart brand. The Mercedes me brand offers access to the digital services from Mercedes-Benz. Mercedes Benz AG is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of luxury passenger cars. In 2020 it sold around 2.1 million passenger cars and nearly 375,000 vans. In its two business segments, Mercedes-Benz AG is continually expanding its worldwide production network with around 35 production sites on four continents, while gearing itself to meet the requirements of electric mobility. At the same time, the company is constructing and extending its global battery production network on three continents. As sustainability is the guiding principle of the Mercedes-Benz strategy and for the company itself, this means creating lasting value for all stakeholders: for customers, employees, investors, business partners and society as a whole. The basis for this is Daimler’s sustainable business strategy. The company thus takes responsibility for the economic, ecological and social effects of its business activities and looks at the entire value chain.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements included in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “aims”, “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “set,” “continue,” “towards,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “forward,” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our expectations that our deal with Mercedes-Benz will lead to series production on a broad range of next-generation production vehicle lines of Mercedes-Benz, that Mercedes Benz will launch a SAE Level 3 conditionally automated driving system on consumer vehicles. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of Luminar’s management and are not predictions of actual performance. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including successful development and industrialization our lidar technology; successful program integration with Mercedes Benz; successful feature integration by Mercedes-Benz; changes in Mercedes-Benz vehicle line plans; changes in market conditions; consumer desirability for such products and government authorization to use them; or other risks, that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements including the risks discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Annual Report on Form 10-K filed by Luminar on March 1, 2022, and other documents Luminar files periodically with the SEC. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made and Luminar undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release.
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