Facing huge competition from manufacturers local and international, especially in China, global auto giant Mercedes-Benz is embarking on a huge digital transformation programme, which includes a paradigm shift in product development with an artificial intelligence (AI-)native digital backbone to support its product lifecycle management (PLM).
The adoption of the new PLM system comes as Mercedes‑Benz has embraced a variety of electrification techniques and advances in intelligent, connected and user-centric mobility for software-defined vehicles (SDVs). For example, the Mercedes‑Benz GLC 400 4MATIC with EQ Technology and all-electric CLA model feature a “sophisticated” digital cockpit and connectivity experiences enhanced by the Qualcomm Technologies Snapdragon Digital Chassis solutions, a foundational platform for SDVs.
With an investment of around half a billion euros in the new software, Mercedes-Benz believes that it is paving the way for a new generation of product development that is more connected, data-driven and intelligent than ever before. This is designed to allow for more holistic assessment of complex interdependencies and faster translation of new technologies into customer benefits.
PLM.AI will form the cornerstone of Mercedes-Benz’s engineering ecosystem – as the basis for fully integrated, data-driven and AI-supported development across all vehicle programmes. Mercedes-Benz will define the target vision, target architecture, data models and governance of models and will also manage global implementation within an agile transformation programme and continuously develops the new digital backbone.
AI has already been embedded in product development at Mercedes-Benz with AI agents supporting a range of tasks, from optimising material costs and certification, homologation processes to detecting and resolving faults or supporting software development.
While these AI agents are currently used primarily in individual process steps, PLM.AI is intended to take AI to the next level. Mercedes-Benz is connecting different applications across development processes, enabled by standardised data models and the end-to-end integration of development data.
PLM.AI helps employees analyse complex relationships across functions, intelligently connect relevant information and identify trade-offs at an early stage. AI-powered simulations and development processes enable more targeted use of physical testing, which could be reduced by half over time. The objective is that there is more efficient use of resources and earlier validation of development decisions while the focus remains on people and responsibility for product decisions remains with the teams.
The result is said to be a “seamless” digital thread built on consistent data and clear standards. Information becomes available in real time, coordination is simplified and innovations can be implemented faster.
Through use of the new platform, Mercedes-Benz has collaborated with two key technology partners: Contact Software for the platform’s open core system; and Siemens with whom Mercedes-Benz has expanded its long-standing partnership in physical design and digital validation.
Contact Software provides the open PLM core layer with Contact Elements. This is said to give Mercedes-Benz the modular and scalable foundation needed to integrate product data, processes and applications along the product development process and to flexibly incorporate future AI technologies.
Siemens will support Mercedes-Benz with solutions and know-how in the areas of AI-enabled automotive design, simulation and digital validation for the digital twin. This enables key engineering domains to be interconnected and accelerated through the shared data and process foundation of PLM.AI.
The new platform is additionally attributed with having established an end-to-end, intelligent knowledge base that connects development, procurement, production, sales and after-sales. As a result, Mercedes-Benz says new products and technologies can be brought to series maturity faster, more efficiently and more sustainably in future. In particular, it claims that this can reduce development time by up to 30%, with efficiency gains of up to 50% expected in individual engineering processes.
Despite its recognition of the technology, Mercedes-Benz was adamant that the reduced development time only arrives comes from helping teams make better decisions earlier by connecting the right people with the right information at the right time. By doing this, it noted, complexity is reduced, innovation accelerated and customers encounter new technologies sooner.
At the same time, the standards that the company says define Mercedes-Benz remain unchanged, in particular a commitment to quality and safety. That means that Mercedes-Benz vehicle developed with PLM.AI will still be unmistakably a Mercedes-Benz – defined by the same craftsmanship, engineering and brought to customers faster.
“With PLM.AI, we are creating the digital backbone for the future of product development at Mercedes-Benz and bringing new technologies to series maturity up to 30% faster,” said Jörg Burzer, member of the board of management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, chief technology officer, development and procurement.
“This will make us faster, more connected and more capable of learning. At the same time, we are creating a foundation that connects vehicle development, production and customer experience in a new dimension. Our high standards for quality and safety remain unchanged.”
