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Mercedes could make EV batteries with Audi, BMW

It's not a big leap from digital maps to batteries, it turns out.The head of Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler said recently that he envisions his company working together with German automotive competitors BMW and Volkswagen to further accelerate electric-vehicle battery technology. The three automakers recently worked together to enhance their in-car maps systems. Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche talked about "commonalities" between automakers, not the least of which is the need for all of them to achieve increasingly stringent fuel-economy requirements in the European Union, at the Frankfurt Auto Show last week, according to Reuters. While these companies have made their own inroads as far as plug-in vehicles go, they are all behind the Renault-Nissan Alliance when it comes to public deployment of electric vehicles. This summer, Daimler, Audi and BMW hooked up to acquire the Nokia Here digital-mapping service for about $2.8 billion. The triad of automakers beat out companies such as Apple and Uber to buy the entity, which was founded in 1986 as Navteq. Nokia bought the company in 2007. The acquisition makes sense as the automakers work on improving their products with features like cloud-based data to warn drivers of icy roads and traffic jams. The technology will likely also eventually be used in autonomous vehicles. Automakers working together for a common goal of improved technology is nothing new, of course. General Motors and Honda agreed in 2013 to work together to accelerate hydrogen fuel-cell drivetrain development. Earlier that same year, Daimler said it would work with Ford and Nissan in a separate collaboration to speed up the development of hydrogen fuel-cell technology. Related Video:

Next Mercedes-Benz GLK to get AMG variant? Not likely...

If you think Mercedes-Benz will slap an AMG badge on anything with wheels, think again. Word has it the German manufacturer will not offer buyers a performance version of the GLK, with Tobias Moers, director of AMG vehicle development, saying that he doesn't see a market for the car. That's not to say the picture won't change in the near future, however. According to CarAdvice.com, AMG is keeping a close eye on the arrival of the Porsche Macan.
"Maybe there will be a change in the market when the Porsche [Macan] comes up," Moers said, "but right now, no."
The real hitch in the giddy-up seems to be cost. Moers says developing the machine into something worthy of an AMG would represent "a huge investment." We can't exactly argue with that. Fortunately, AMG buyers have plenty of Mercedes-Benz models to choose from.

Mercedes-Benz pickup could come to US

Mercedes-Benz USA CEO Steve Cannon says the brand has until the end of the year to decide whether to bring its upcoming midsize pickup truck to the United States. "We said to Stuttgart, 'We are open, and let us assess the market.' If that leads to us saying 'green light,' then we will bring it," Cannon said to Automotive News. Mercedes-Benz Vans is leading the pickup's development, and the company's official announcement said the truck's intended markets are Latin America, South Africa, Australia and Europe. The vehicle is expected to launch by 2020. The company might take advantage of some of Nissan's truck expertise on the project, but that's not decided yet, according to Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn. However, if the Mercedes pickup makes it to the US, it wouldn't be the same utility-oriented model as for the rest of the world. Instead, Cannon indicates that the truck would be adapted to fill a more luxurious role in the lineup and wouldn't be limited to dealers that sell vans. "For a Mercedes-Benz household that has a lot of stuff or a lot of kids or they want to tow the boat - we could offer something to customers who are already luxury-predisposed," he said to Automotive News. Keep in mind none of this is set in stone, and Mercedes doesn't have to offer the model here because "officially it was approved without US volume," Cannon said to Automotive News. He thinks the truck would be a niche vehicle and sales might only be around 10,000 units a year. With pickups among the leading segments in transactions over $50,000 in the US, the market could still be the right fit for the traditionally high-end German brand. Related Video: