Mercedes-Benz to consolidate worldwide vehicle testing in Immendingen
On October 31, Daimler announced that Mercedes-Benz Cars is consolidating its worldwide vehicle testing at Immendingen, including the further development of alternative drives such as hybrids and electric vehicles under the product and technology brand EQ. Future assistance systems and automated driving functions are also tested here.
Mercedes-Benz is currently creating 300 new jobs in Immendingen. 250 employees are already working on more than 30 different test stretches on which different driving conditions can be simulated. A particular focus is placed on the four strategic areas for the future, Connected, Autonomous, Shared and Electric. Daimler has grouped these under the acronym CASE.
What is known as the 'Bertha' area for evaluation and testing of highly automated vehicles provides the engineers with a 100,000 square metre test module designed for automated driving. The manoeuvres performed here are especially focussed on automated driving and safety functions.
The inner-city module has 1.5 kilometres of city roads with various junctions for testing driving assistance systems, car-to-X communication and automated driving under realistic conditions.
The Test and Technology Center Immendingen was officially opened in September 2018 after a construction time of around three and a half years. It has 68 kilometres of total length of test routes. There are more than 30 test and assessment stretches covering a total area of 520 hectares.
(Daimler press release October 31, 2019)