Mercedes-Benz cars get Amazon Echo and Google Home control

All 2016 and 2017 Mercedes-Benz vehicles can now be controlled with Amazon’s Alexa or Google Assistant on Google Home, the carmaker announced today.

To use Alexa or Google Assistant with a Mercedes-Benz car, owners must activate and create a subscription for Mbrace, Mercedes’ in-vehicle tech for entertainment, navigation, and remote controls. The voice controls being extended today come in the form of a Mercedes Me Google Assistant action and an Alexa skill by the same name.

The new feature can be used to do things like lock doors remotely, find a nearby cafe, or start your engine by saying, “OK Google, tell Mercedes Me to start my car.”  Say “Alexa, ask Mercedes Me to send an address to the car” and the assistant will give you navigation directions.

The Mercedes Me service on Google Home is currently only available in the United States.

A Mercedes-Benz integration for Google Assistant was initially announced last December when the Actions on Google platform  was launched.

Mercedes-Benz is the second most recent carmaker to bring voice control to their vehicles. Last week, Hyundai launched a long-anticipated Google Assistant conversation action to accomplish similar things as the Mercedes Me action for some vehicles made between 2015 and 2017. The Hyundai integration was initially announced during the Computer Electronics Shows (CES) in January.