Daimler with Its Car-to-X Communication

Wireless communication at its best will be launched by Daimler through its Car-to-X Communication device.

Following three years of intensive research work, Daimler and the involved project partners are presenting the current status of the simTD project in Friedberg/Hesse today. It is also announcing the launch of the largest field trial for Car-to-X communication worldwide: from the spring of 2012, around 120 vehicles will be testing the new technology in real road traffic in the Rhine-Main region. “We are convinced that Car-to-X communication represents an important step on the way to accident-free driving,” observes simTD overall project coordinator Dr. Christian Weiß, who also heads the Cooperating Systems team in the Research and Advance Development department at Daimler AG.

The use of Car-to-X systems extends the vehicle’s field of vision – the “telematic horizon” – substantially. In addition to safety-related applications, comfort functions such as suggested routes to the nearest available car park can also be realised. By enabling traffic signal systems to be controlled according to prevailing requirements, Car-to-X communication can also help to optimise traffic flows, thereby contributing to efficient and thus sustainable mobility.
In Germany, the simTD research project (Safe Intelligent Mobility – test field Germany) is examining the everyday practicality of Car-to-X communication under the direction of Daimler AG.

As a pioneer in the field of vehicle and traffic safety, Car-to-X communication and the resultant assistance systems are a matter of high priority for Daimler. Against this background, the Group is contributing the largest individual share of funding among the industrial partners involved in the simTD research project and has provided the most vehicles for the test drives conducted to date. The importance of Car-to-X communication to Daimler is also demonstrated by its long-standing involvement in other projects relating to this area. The company is a founding member of the CAR 2 CAR Communication Consortium, for example, and plays an active role in promoting the standardisation of technology in the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI).

simTD is a joint project involving German automobile manufacturers, automotive parts suppliers, communications companies, research institutes and the public sector. simTD is being sponsored and supported by the Federal Ministries of Economics and Technology, Education and Research, Transport, Building and Urban Affairs and the Federal State of Hesse.

Source: Daimler AG

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Lyon France- The Next car2go Destination

Following the success of car2go in Canada, US and Germany, the carsharing service will expand in Lyon, France in 2012. No exact date of when this will happen, but it will surely be well-received by the French for its convenience.

Lyon - Following the successful launch of the car2go mobility service in the German city of Hamburg, car2go GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Daimler AG, and Europcar, the leader in car-rental services in Europe, announced today that within a few weeks, Lyon will become the first French city to enjoy the benefits of the unique car2go mobility programme.

Starting in 2012, car2go will provide Lyon residents with a fleet of 200 low-emission, self-service smart fortwo cars which will be available for “on-demand” rentals throughout the city. Members can easily locate the closest available vehicle within a defined operating area of 44 square kilometres via the internet at www.car2go.com or with the help of a smartphone application. They can rent a vehicle spontaneously without the need to reserve it in advance. car2go allows its members to use the vehicle for as long as they like, without committing to a specific return time or location. Members pay only for the time they usethe vehicle, with rental periods as short as one minute. More than 45,000 people in Germany, USA and Canada have already become members of car2go, the world’s first one-way carsharing service.

“Innovative urban mobility solutions like car2go offer a way to help meet the challenges of urban congestion, reducing carbon emissions and improving quality of life,” said Gérard Collomb, Mayor of Lyon and President of ”‘Grand Lyon”. “Following the actions we initiated in 2005 with Velo’v, the first self-service bike sharing system, Lyon is innovating again with car2go, a new approach to car sharing which is complementary to other initiatives enabling our residents to move around town. Choosing Lyon, Europcar and Daimler strengthen the role of our city being one of the European leaders in terms of sustainable mobility.”

“This roll-out marks an important step of car2go into the European market and we are proud to name Lyon the first home of car2go in France,” said Robert Henrich, CEO of car2go GmbH. “The overwhelming success in Germany and North America shows that car2go offers what people are searching for: a very convenient and flexible mobility solution for short and spontaneous one-way trips.”

car2go complements the existing transportation infrastructure in dense urban areas and aims to reduce the burden on city-center traffic, parking and the environment by using the smart fortwo “car2go edition”. The vehicle has been specially developed for the purpose of carsharing and is manufactured at the smart plant in Hambach, France.

Unlimited mobility

The idea of car2go was born at the Business Innovation Department of Daimler AG. Today, with a total of more than 45,000 members and 1,100 vehicles worldwide, car2go has proven success in four cities: Ulm and Hamburg in Germany, the Texan capital Austin in the US and Vancouver in Canada. Since the first launch in the southern German city of Ulm in March 2009, more than 900,000 trips have been made and approximately 9 million kilometres have been covered. Experience shows that customers highly value the possibility to do one-way trips. Nine out of ten car2go rentals end at a different location than where they began, further showcasing that customers value the car2go model of point-to-point mobility.

After successfully launching car2go in Hamburg, car2go and Europcar will continue their strong partnership in Lyon.

“Together with car2go, we are providing innovative mobility solutions to serve urban communities and reach new categories of customers,” said Phillipe Guillemot, CEO of Europcar International. “For more than 80 years, Europcar has been building the expertise and strong market positions that have established it as the undisputed European leader in car rental services. Through this partnership with Daimler, we are exploring new ways to combine urban mobility services with short term car rental services, to provide comprehensive mobility solutions to urban customers.

Source: Daimler AG

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Maybach's Fate to be Decided by Mercedes-Benz

Image via WikipediaMercedes -Benz announced that they will officially say whether the luxury vehicle, Maybach, will continue production or not on July 1st. Daimler, Mercedes’ parent company is reportedly looking to either shut it down or revive it by sealing a partnership with British automaker Aston Martin.

In a press statement Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler, said that "there is a higher likelihood to come to a positive decision" as Aston Martin expressed its interest in sharing costs and sharing their production plant in Gaydon, England in exchange of access to AMG and Mercedes-Benz’ parts and engines.

The German carmaker revived the Maybach label in 2002 after investing about $1 billion with hopes of selling around 1,500 cars a year. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen as they sold only a staggering 157 units last year.

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