Mercedes-Benz is one of the largest car manufacturers on the planet and despite the rumors regarding dthe lawsuits between Apple and BMW, the German company is still interested in a possible collaboration with those from Cupertino.
Dieter Zetsche, the CEO of Daimler AG which owns Mercedes-Benz, stated in a recent interview that any kind of collaboration is possible when it comes to Apple, so probably those from Cupertino could find more understanding with Daimer than with BMW for a collaboration.
Last year, Apple hired the president of the American division of research and development of Mercedes-Benz, but the CEO of Daimler AG claims that a collaboration with Apple or even Google would be profitable for both parties since CarPlay and Android Auto are becoming more and more many cars.
Moreover, Mercedes-Benz or BMW could gain from the implementation of systems that would allow cars to drive themselves, but we are currently at a great distance from the possible launch of such software, but collaboration between the parties would speed up his appearance.
Many things are conceivable. Google and Apple want to provide system software for cars and bring this entire ecosystem around Apple and Google into the vehicle. That can be interesting for both sides. We don't want to become contractors who have no direct content with customers any more and supply hardware to third parties
Despite the openness to collaborations, the Daimler CEO still made a statement similar to what Apple heard from BMW, saying that Mercedes-Benz does not want to become a simple supplier of components to companies like Apple or Google, because both just want that.
Apple tried to convince BMW to allow it to use at least part of the BMW i3 body for its car, but BMW refused to become just a component manufacturer, and Daimler says the same very clearly, so Apple has a tough "battle" to fight with car manufacturers.
