TLDR: Mercedes-Benz has significantly expanded its strategic partnership with Chinese tech giant ByteDance, integrating ByteDance’s Doubao AI virtual assistant into its upcoming all-electric CLA model, set to launch in China this autumn. The collaboration focuses on intelligent cockpits, smart driving, digital R&D, and marketing, underscoring Mercedes-Benz’s commitment to localized innovation for the Chinese market.
Mercedes-Benz has announced a significant deepening of its strategic cooperation with ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, to enhance its new electric CLA model specifically for the Chinese market. The upgraded partnership, formalized through a memorandum of cooperation signed on September 23, 2025, aims to accelerate the integration and application of advanced AI technologies across various facets of Mercedes-Benz’s operations in China.
The centerpiece of this collaboration is the integration of ByteDance’s Doubao AI, a large AI model and virtual assistant, into the new all-electric CLA sedan. This model is slated for an autumn 2025 launch in China. Doubao AI is noted for its capabilities in recognizing dialects and detecting emotions, promising a more personalized and intuitive in-car experience for Chinese consumers.
The expanded partnership extends beyond the smart cockpit to include intelligent driving assistance, digital research and development, and digital marketing. In the smart cockpit domain, Mercedes-Benz plans to leverage ByteDance’s AI capabilities to enable rapid development of intelligent applications and explore multimodal large models and generative AI, incorporating entertainment, navigation, and lifestyle services.
For R&D, ByteDance will support Mercedes-Benz’s China team with data platform construction, AI model integration, and analytics, aiming to improve efficiency in turning ideas into software applications. In digital marketing, Mercedes-Benz intends to utilize ByteDance’s extensive content ecosystem and media platforms to boost customer engagement.
This move highlights Mercedes-Benz’s localization strategy and its recognition of China as a crucial hub for technological innovation. Oliver Thöne, a member of the board at Mercedes-Benz responsible for China operations, stated that the full business chain collaboration is a response to the growing demand for intelligent vehicles in the Chinese market.
Previous collaborations between the two companies began in 2023, with Mercedes integrating ByteDance’s Volcano Engine cloud service unit into its intelligent cockpits, offering apps like Xigua and Douyin. This progressive relationship culminated in the full strategic partnership upgrade in 2025.
The new Mercedes CLA model is also reported to feature a driving range of 866 kilometers and will be equipped with 11 airbags, emphasizing both advanced technology and safety. Consumer data from the China Electric Vehicle 100 Forum indicates that 90 percent of consumers are willing to pay more for advanced intelligent driving features, with 30 percent prepared to spend an additional CNY10,000 (approximately USD1,403).
Drummond Jacoy, senior executive vice-president at Mercedes-Benz China, emphasized the company’s commitment to deepening cooperation with leading Chinese tech firms to deliver safer, smarter, and more intuitive driving experiences tailored for Chinese customers. Ola Kaellenius, chairman of the board of management at Mercedes-Benz AG, further underscored China’s role as a source of “inspiration not just to delight customers in China, but to use what we learn and innovate here also for the rest of the world.”
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In a related development, Mercedes-Benz also announced a partnership with autonomous driving startup Momenta to roll out a smart driving system in China, starting with the CLA. This system is exclusively based on Chinese driving data and fine-tuned by joint teams to meet both Mercedes’ standards and local driving habits. This dual approach with ByteDance for in-car AI and Momenta for autonomous driving showcases Mercedes-Benz’s comprehensive strategy to remain competitive in China’s rapidly evolving smart vehicle market.
