The hiring comes as part of a broader drive to recruit a total of 3,000 programmers worldwide to strengthen Daimler's software hubs in centres including Berli, Tel Aviv, Seattle and Beijing, the weekly magazine reported.

Daimler's MBOS system, which will run electric-only vehicles, is expected to hit the market in 2024 as Daimler takes on electric-only rival Tesla and seeks to resist encroachment by Silicon Valley into the automotive industry.

"With this system, Mercedes-Benz has the central control of all vehicle domains and thus the customer interfaces," Sajjad Khan, chief technology officer at Daimler's flagship Mercedes brand, was quoted as saying by Automobilwoche.

(Reporting by Douglas Busvine; Editing by David Goodman)