The future is electric and Mercedes-Benz knows it. Daimler, the parent company of the German automaker, announced on Thursday an investment plan of 40,000 million euros between 2022 and 2030 to “go fully electric by the end of the decade.”
“This step marks a profound reallocation of capital. By managing this faster transformation while safeguarding our profitability objectives, we will ensure the lasting success of Mercedes-Benz.”
Ola Källenius, CEO of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG
Mercedes-Benz’s electrification strategy will mean a complex shakeup for a storied combustion engine company, which has warned that technology change will lead to job cuts.
Mercedes-Benz is working on three new platforms. These will allow all vehicles launched from 2025 to be fully electric. However, as the transition process progresses, existing gasoline models will continue to be offered.
The three new Mercedes-Benz platforms
- MB.EA: will cover all medium to large size cars, setting a
Scalable modular system as an electrical backbone for the future electrical portfolio. - AMG.EA: it will be a platform of high performance electric vehicles dedicated to
Mercedes-AMG customers, focused on technology and performance. - VAN.EA: will target electric vans and light commercial vehicles, which will contribute to emission-free transportation and cities in the future.
Mercedes-Benz’s plan to meet its goals also speaks of building eight new “gigafactories” for battery production for themselves and their business partners.
A complete transformation
Mercedes-Benz can already mass-produce BEVs today, but starting next year it will build eight fully electric models in seven factories located on three continents.
The company points out that they will also work on specifying new partnerships for battery development and production in Europe. Likewise, it will have 530,000 charging points around the world thanks to its partners.
On the latter, he talks about the “Plug & Charge” system, which will allow customers to “connect, charge and unplug” without the need to take additional steps for authentication and payment.
The intentions – and the plan– from the manufacturer are in sight, however, it has not specified a strict date when it will stop selling combustion cars. Instead, they have said they will sell electric-only cars “by the end of the decade.”
However, Mercedes-Benz shares will arrive in time to comply with the new European Union regulation. This establishes the effective prohibition of the sale of new gasoline and diesel cars from 2035.