Mercedes-Benz to shift to electric-only by 2030
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Mercedes-Benz announced its plans to go fully electric by the end of the decade if market conditions permit, as per a report by IANS.
The German luxury automotive brand's maker Daimler made public its plans to invest more than 40 billion euros in getting Mercedes-Benz ready to compete in the all-electric car market by the year 2030, reported Reuters. The electric car market is currently dominated by Elon Musk's electric car company Tesla.
The news comes just a week after the European Union proposed an effective ban on the sale of new fossil-driven cars from the year 2035 to combat global warming. As a result, Daimler's shares have gone up 2.5%, reported Reuters.
The company plans to integrate battery electric vehicles (BEV) in all segments by 2022. Additionally, Mercedes-Benz plans to manufacture electric-only vehicle architectures for newly launched vehicles from 2025. Customers will be able to opt for an all-electric alternative to every Mercedes-Benz model.
Ola Kallenius, CEO of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG said: "The EV shift is picking up speed -- especially in the luxury segment, where Mercedes-Benz belongs. The tipping point is getting closer and we will be ready as markets switch to electric-only by the end of this decade."
The company intends to build eight Gigafactories in collaboration with its partners to manufacture cells, in addition to the existing nine plants dedicated solely to manufacturing battery systems.
Three electric-only architectures will be launched in 2025, namely MB.EA, AMG.EA and VAN.EA. Additionally, Mercedes-Benz intends to acquire UK-based electric motor company YASA so as to insource electric drive technology.
The company said in a statement that "Next-generation batteries will be highly standardised and suitable for use in more than 90 per cent of all Mercedes-Benz cars and vans while being flexible enough to offer individual solutions to all customers."
However, the shift in focus to manufacturing all-electric vehicles will result in an 80% drop in investments between 2019 and 2026 into combustion engines and hybrid technologies, which will invariably result in job cuts as electric vehicles require fewer components, therefore fewer workers reported Reuters.