Mercedes-Benz invests in an autonomous driving technology company under Geely named Qianli

[PCauto] According to reports, Mercedes-Benz is in final negotiations with Geely regarding an investment in Qianli Technology Co. Mercedes-Benz plans to acquire a minority stake to strengthen its autonomous driving technology presence in the Chinese market.

The negotiation has entered a critical stage, and the specific agreement might be announced this week

According to public information, Qianli's current market value is approximately 59.5 billion RMB, while the proportion and amount of Mercedes-Benz's stake have not been disclosed yet.

Notably, Geely, as one of Qianli's major shareholders, plays a crucial bridging role in this collaboration.

Geely had earlier consolidated its autonomous driving businesses into Qianli, making it the core technology provider for the group's intelligent driving development.

Additionally, Qianli completed the integration of the Zeekr ZID intelligent driving team in August, further enhancing its R&D resources.

Qianli has now developed full-stack solutions covering L2+ to L4 levels and has completed over 10 million kilometers of road testing on Geely's vehicle models.

For Mercedes-Benz, this investment is an important step to address competition in the Chinese market. Since 2024, with the rapid rise of local brands such as BYD and Xiaomi, German automakers' advantages in the field of electric and intelligent vehicles have been continuously narrowing.

Although Mercedes-Benz has already launched the L3-level Drive Pilot system in the European market, it needs to enhance its product competitiveness in the Chinese market through localized technology adaptation.

By collaborating with Qianli, Mercedes-Benz can acquire key technologies such as perception algorithms and decision control that are more suited to Chinese road conditions, potentially shortening the iteration cycle of its intelligent driving systems.

​A Foundation of Collaboration: Mercedes-Benz and Geely​

In 2018, Geely's Chairman Li Shufu personally acquired 9.69% of Mercedes-Benz Group's shares, becoming its largest single shareholder; in 2023, the joint smart brand launched electric vehicle models #1 and #3.

Currently, the two companies are in initial discussions regarding collaboration on next-generation internal combustion engine technology.

The collaboration between Mercedes-Benz and Geely may adopt a "technology supply + joint development" model, with Qianli providing underlying technical support for Mercedes-Benz's models in China while both parties jointly develop the next-generation intelligent driving platform targeting the global market.