SANTA CLARA, Calif. — January 2026 — NVIDIA and Mercedes-Benz are advancing automated driving with the integration of NVIDIA DRIVE AV into the Mercedes‑Benz S‑Class, enabling Level 4 automated driving capabilities under defined conditions.

The collaboration brings NVIDIA’s end-to-end autonomous vehicle stack—spanning AI compute, software, and simulation—into Mercedes-Benz’s flagship sedan. The companies said the system is designed for high-speed highway scenarios, allowing the vehicle to handle driving tasks while the driver can disengage when the feature is active.

DRIVE AV combines high-performance in-vehicle compute with advanced perception, planning, and decision-making software. It is trained and validated using large-scale simulation and real-world data to meet stringent safety and reliability requirements. NVIDIA emphasized that the platform is built for automotive-grade redundancy and determinism, supporting the safety standards required for Level 4 autonomy.

Mercedes-Benz said the S-Class implementation reflects its approach of introducing automated driving in a controlled, premium context first. By focusing on specific operating domains, the company aims to deliver a comfortable and trustworthy autonomous experience while maintaining rigorous validation and regulatory alignment.

The system is designed to evolve over time through software updates, allowing capabilities to expand as regulations, infrastructure, and validation progress. NVIDIA noted that DRIVE AV’s scalable architecture supports this long-term roadmap, enabling automakers to add features without redesigning core systems.

The announcement underscores a broader industry shift toward production-ready autonomous platforms, where AI software, custom compute, and simulation are tightly integrated. For NVIDIA and Mercedes-Benz, the Level 4 S-Class represents a milestone in bringing advanced autonomy from research into real vehicles on public roads.

Source: Nvidia