Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz have agreed to provide connected car company Here with data to help accelerate the development of a connected car industry.

Here, jointly owned by the three German brands, will now become more effective than ever and allow vehicles to easily determine and comprehend their surroundings. It will therefore prove particularly useful for the impending onslaught of semi-autonomous and fully-autonomous vehicles.

According to Autocar, the agreement means that if a BMW vehicle sees something of interest on a road, this information can then be shared with Audi and Mercedes-Benz models. In the future, additionally automakers could become involved, making the system even more effective.

Here’s product marketing manager for connected driving Alex Mangan said “We’re showing for the first time how you can take the value of rich sensor data coming from a vehicle and use it to do things that positively impact safety and efficiency.

“To make the most of connected systems, we all as an industry need each other. The cars need sensor data, and with this kind of agreement a Toyota vehicle, for example, can have an understanding of what the JLR car saw down the road if everyone’s involved.”

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