Mercedes-Benz has said it will begin testing various technologies relating to current and upcoming active safety and advanced driver assistance systems on Australian roads.
A Mercedes-Benz E-Class fitted with testing equipment will be used in normal driving conditions throughout Australia, gathering data which will be fed back to Germany for analysis.
From the exterior the vehicle is no different from any other current E-Class.
However, it has been fitted with additional equipment designed to collect various information such as data regarding local roads, signage, satellite navigation and traffic behaviours.
The information will be used to test current safety systems and analyse how they deal with condition in Australia.
Data gathered from testing will also influence the development of future Mercedes-Benz safety systems.
Research of the new technologies will be carried out in conjunction with the Mercedes-Benz Research and Development team based in Sindelfingen, Germany.
Mercedes-Benz manager of validation and communication for active safety and assistance systems Jochen Haab said the Australian testing was important to developing better safety technology.
“Australia is an important market but also a market we can learn more about by gathering data from our current systems to help develop our technology for future Mercedes-Benz vehicles.
“This opportunity allows us to further test in a new right-hand-drive market with good roads, signage, and varying conditions within close proximity of urban areas."