Daimler's innovator-in-chief is on the road, wheeling about the Alsace countryside behind the wheel of yet another new model, the 2016 GLC crossover. It's a good day to be Thomas Weber.
Weber has been head of research and development at Daimler AG for a dozen years, and he and his team are on a roll. Daimler's new models and the technologies it has embraced are hot. Sales are growing fast and the technology flagship S-Class remains the bestselling luxury sedan worldwide.
In the first six months of 2015, Daimler delivered 898,000 vehicles, an increase of 14.7 per cent over last year and a record. Rival Audi AG's worldwide sales from January to June increased by 3.8 per cent to 902,400 cars. At the top, BMW's sales were up 7.8 per cent to 1,099,748.
Audi is within striking distance, then, but Weber concedes that to overtake BMW while holding off Audi requires quicker reactions to fast-moving trends in connectivity, autonomous driving and zero emissions. Here's the news, gearheads: Successful car companies will worry less about raw horsepower and 0-100 km/h launch times for mass-market models.
"In the future," he said, pointing to the iPad-like colour display screen at the top of the centre stack, above the three round vents, "more and more for the younger the customer, the focus will be on these topics. The speed of innovation will be a differentiating factor for the future. Only if you are fast will you be at the forefront of your market."
That screen unlocks almost all the new GLC's many fancy standard features, from adjustable driving dynamics (Eco, Comfort, Sport, Sport+ and Individual) to the multimedia system, navigation, and more in a mid-size crossover that itself delivers semi-autonomous driving. Car companies still must concern themselves with the classics of car making – ride, handling, steering, cornering, braking, crash test scores and such – but the buyers of tomorrow want to stay connected in vehicles that can drive themselves while making zero or low emissions.
"Therefore, you need a completely new philosophy to develop cars," he said. "You need a few main architectures: front-wheel, rear-wheel, SUV-style architectures. And a modular strategy where each and every module is not developed for a (specific) car but should be available for the overall car line."
That is, Collision Prevention Assist, Blind Spot Assist, the integrated multimedia system with high-resolution seven-inch colour display and touchpad – all standard on the GLC heading to dealerships this November – were developed as part of that modular strategy. This is a kind of "plug-and-play" approach to development that allows Merc to spread expensive, sophisticated and in-demand technologies up and down the lineup.
Modularity also helps the R&D team find ways to bring a finished car to dozens of different markets each with their individual emissions targets, customer wants and needs, affordability levels, and delivery and service infrastructures. Daimler wants to be the No. 1 premium car maker by sales by 2020. This is central to getting there.
The reinvented GLC is the latest example of what Weber's team is about. Its basic architecture and many modules are shared with the new C-Class car, saving cost but also allowing Merc to give customers a lot of crossover for the expected $44,000 or so price tag. This GLC is longer, wider, roomier and has more cargo space.
The only engine available in Canada will the 2.0-litre turbo four (241 horsepower/273 lb-ft torque) mated to a new nine-speed automatic and standard all-wheel drive. Later will come a diesel, followed by a gasoline-electric hybrid. A plug-in hybrid is also a strong possibility.
"Our road map into the future," Weber said, "has three main lanes: first, combustion engine, high-tech diesel and gas; second, plug-in hybrids; third, pure electric and pure electric has energy storage in batteries or in fuel cell tanks … We are preparing our technology road map to be prepared for all three."
And the team preparing that road map, Weber's team, must be flexible, fast and open-minded, he says. "The key is to stay open; don't believe you are always the best. Other guys are clever, too," he said.
Good as this day is, Weber simply can't take a moment to unplug his thinking about the future.
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