Mercedes Acquires ChiLi Technology Shares for 1.3 Billion to Expand Localized Smart Driving

Mercedes-Benz's "circle of friends" in China is rapidly expanding. The latest "new friend" is Qianli Technology, of which Mercedes-Benz has acquired a 3% stake for 1.3 billion yuan through an agreement transfer. This move is aimed at expanding its presence in the field of intelligence.

According to an announcement released by Qianli Technology on September 25, Lifan Holdings and Mercedes-Benz (Shanghai) Digital Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Mercedes Digital Technology") have signed a Share Purchase Agreement with Huachuang Securities and Shenwan Hongyuan. Mercedes Digital Technology will acquire approximately 136 million shares (accounting for 3.00% of the total share capital) of Qianli Technology at a price of 9.87 yuan per share, with a total purchase price of 1.339 billion yuan.

After the completion of the transaction, Mercedes-Benz Digital Technology becomes the fifth largest shareholder of Qianli Technology, while Lifan Holdings' shareholding ratio decreases to 10.68%, remaining the third largest shareholder of Qianli Technology. Mercedes-Benz Digital Technology commits not to reduce its shares within 12 months after the completion of the share transfer.

The acquirer of Qianli Technology Co., Ltd. is Mercedes-Benz Digital Technology, which is the Mercedes-Benz Shanghai R&D Center. It is responsible for localized research and innovation in key digital fields such as intelligent connectivity, electric mobility, autonomous driving, localization, and vehicle testing.

As one of the core forces behind the localization R&D of Mercedes-Benz's intelligent driving and intelligent cockpit, the L2+ navigation assistance driving system, developed by Mercedes-Benz Digital Technology, has been applied to multiple models, including the GLC Coupe SUV. At the same time, Mercedes-Benz Digital Technology is deeply involved in the development of the new MB.OS domain control architecture and leads the development of the next generation intelligent cockpit and passenger user experience (PUX).

The acquisition of Qianli Technology's equity will further expand Mercedes-Benz's layout in the intelligent field and accelerate the localization of research and development processes. In June this year, Qianli Technology released its intelligent driving roadmap, including the L2+ level intelligent driving assistance solution Qianli Intelligent Drive 1.0, which is a comprehensive intelligent driving platform solution launched by Qianli Technology for third-party automobile manufacturers. Additionally, Qianli Technology plans to release the L3 level intelligent driving solution Qianli Intelligent Drive 2.0 in the fourth quarter of this year and the L4 level intelligent driving solution for Robotaxi scenarios, Qianli Intelligent Drive 3.0, in the second half of 2026.

In addition to intelligent driving, Qianli Technology has also developed a new generation of intelligent cockpit product solutions centered around AI Agents, based on multi-modal large models and end-to-end speech large models.

In fact, Qianli Technology is not the first Chinese tech company that Mercedes-Benz has invested in. As early as 2017, Mercedes-Benz proactively participated in Momenta's Series B1 financing, becoming the first international car company to invest in Momenta.

On the same day that Mercedes acquired a 3% stake in Qianli Technology, they announced that a new urban and highway navigation assistance driving system (Level 2) developed in collaboration with Momenta will soon be released, and it will first be equipped on the upcoming all-electric CLA model. In the future, this system will expand to more Mercedes models, continuously supporting the development of Mercedes' intelligent driving assistance.

According to Auto-First, the new generation intelligent driver assistance system uses an end-to-end large model, integrating Momenta's leading flywheel large model technology, and will cover highways, urban areas, and parking, achieving point-to-point intelligent driver assistance functionality.

It is worth mentioning that this intelligent driver assistance system is not a product of "copy-paste" but is custom-developed based on actual driving scenarios and styles in China under the "Mercedes-Benz standards," always adhering to the principle of "safety first" and achieving generational breakthroughs in hardware and algorithms. At the same time, leveraging its accumulation in the field of intelligent driver assistance and autonomous driving, Mercedes-Benz has repeatedly tuned the synergy between powertrain, chassis, and intelligent driver assistance systems to achieve an industry benchmark-level human-machine co-driving experience.

Whether it's Qianli Technology or Momenta, the vast "circle of friends" Mercedes-Benz has built in China aims to combine its own innovative research capabilities with the leading technology and mass production experience of its partners. This is intended to significantly shorten the cycle from research and development to mass production, showcasing to the outside world the combination of the "Mercedes-Benz standard" and "China speed."