Mercedes is now officially rolling back the brand's goal of only building electric cars in 2030. There will be internal combustion engines 'well into the 30s', says the director.
Mercedes is now taking several steps back in relation to the brand's ambitious plan to only build electric cars by 2030 at the latest.
The objective was finally put in the grave by the brand's Swedish top director Ola Källenius when Mercedes held its annual general meeting on Wednesday.
Here, Ola Källenius prepared Mercedes' own people and shareholders for the fact that the transition may take longer than the brand had originally anticipated.
This is written by the media Fortune .
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Now Ola Källenius says that Mercedes will take the internal combustion engine with it into the 2030s if the demand is there. The same applies in other respects to the hybrid cars.
Ola Källenius and thus Mercedes change their minds on top of disappointing electric car sales. For the brand from Stuttgart, it is specifically the sales of the electric cars EQE and the more expensive EQS that are disappointing.
Mercedes can then also note the lowest profit margin per car for two years. This is evident from the latest accounting figures for the first quarter of 2024.
Thus, we are a long way from Ola Källenius' incendiary speech during a similar fashion in Morocco just two years ago. Here there was still a shortage of cars and almost overflowing order books.
Conversely, Mercedes is not the only car brand that has found reverse gear when it comes to electric cars. But compared to its closest competitors, Mercedes must see itself overtaken.
BMW's sales of electric cars, for example, increased by as much as 41 percent in the first three months of 2024. All the while, Mercedes had to see sales decline by 8 percent.
The AMG department is also lagging behind. Already last year it was clear that Mercedes' order books are almost empty when it comes to the latest bottling of the C63 model.
Dealers are finding it more than difficult to sell the car, which has gone from 8 to 4 cylinders. The customers choose either Audi or BMW because there are more cylinders to go after.
The other brands offer 'more value when it comes to powertrain, price and quality', Mercedes dealers say. Read more about it here .
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