MacRumors:

Mercedes-Benz has confirmed that its new MBUX infotainment system will feature support for wireless CarPlay in future vehicles.

And:

The all-new 2019 A-Class will be Mercedes-Benz’s first vehicle equipped with the MBUX system when it goes on sale later this year, according to a spokesperson for the automaker’s parent company Daimler in Germany. Wireless CarPlay will expand to other new Mercedes-Benz vehicles in 2019, the spokesperson told MacRumors.

And:

Barring announcements from other automakers, Mercedes-Benz will likely become the second to offer vehicles with wireless CarPlay functionality, after BMW rolled out the feature starting with its 2017 5 Series a few years ago. Apple first introduced wireless CarPlay in 2015 alongside iOS 9.

I find it remarkable that it has taken so long for automakers to adopt this technology. Wired CarPlay is rolling right along, but requires you (as the name implies) to plug your iOS device in using a Lightning to USB cable.

Wireless CarPlay kicks in with no cable. That’s a huge drop in friction. It has been years since I last plugged my iPhone into my car, other than to charge. I get in my car, my iPhone connects via Bluetooth. I don’t have to think about it. Why is it taking so long to adopt wireless CarPlay? Is there a cost component? A technical obstacle of some kind? Supply chain issues?

For comparison, take a minute to scroll through the list of cars that feature wired CarPlay. Might take you a while.

UPDATE: OK, the issue seems to be the WiFi requirement. From this post:

At its core, Apple CarPlay just mirrors your iPhone display onto your car’s in-dash screen. For this to work it needs to display video for the user interface as well as features like maps for navigation. While Bluetooth works for audio, it cannot handle the bandwidth that video requires. As such a Wi-Fi access point is needed to transfer the data needed for video.

That’d do it. Interesting.