Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche has stated in an interview he is surprised by the progress tech companies including Google and Apple have made in developing electric vehicles (EVs) and self-driving cars. The traditional automotive company that was once owned by Jaguar and Ford now includes auto brands such as Mercedes-Benz that have become world-famous for their auto technology.
Zetsche recently visited several Silicon Valley tech companies. The Daimler CEO told German weekly Welt am Sonntag that he believes Google and Apple know more and do more about car technology than he believed.
Google is still road testing its self-driving cars in California and Texas and fixing bugs in their onboard software. Meanwhile, Apple has met with California's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) about the rules of the road for self-driving cars, and requested information about a driverless car testing facility in the Bay Area. However, it has not officially reported about an Apple car, according to Engadget.
Zetsche believes the companies have more respect for his company's work in the auto industry during past decades than he originally thought in the past, according to Ubergizmo.
Therefore, Daimler might push its subsidiaries to make more tech advances. It is reportedly in serious talks with some of the over 70 Silicon Valley tech companies it visited.
Tech and auto companies have been teaming up more often recently. Last year Google and Ford were reportedly creating a partnership to build self-driving cars.
However, the companies did not announce at this year's Consumer Electronic Show (CES) that they were joining forces to form a new company to build autonomous cars. They also did not share such news at the Detroit Auto Show.
Google recently noted that it would move its self-driving program to the Alphabet umbrella company. A Google-Ford partnership would be related to that move.
Partnerships between auto companies like Daimler and Ford can benefit tech companies like Google and Apple. For example, both Google and Ford have been developing robotic cars for years.
Google has road tested dozens of self-driving cars in Silicon Valley, California and Austin, Texas. Meanwhile, California recently gave Ford a green light to test driverless vehicles on public roads.
Here's Daimler's self-driving big rig truck: