Mercedes-Benz announces plan to go all-electric by 2030

Mercedes-Benz today announced a new electrification plan that sets them up to “go all-electric by the end of the decade.”

The German automaker is the latest in a series of automakers who are trying to put a timeline on when they are going to sell their latest internal combustion engine vehicle.

For Mercedes-Benz, they believe that it will happen by the end of the decade.

Ola Källenius, CEO of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG, commented on the announcement:

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. This step marks a profound reallocation of capital. By managing this faster transformation while safeguarding our profitability targets, we will ensure the enduring success of Mercedes-Benz. Thanks to our highly qualified and motivated workforce, I am convinced that we will be successful in this exciting new era.

In order to achieve that, Mercedes-Benz announced that it is working on three new all-electric platforms that will launch in 2025.

With those platforms, the automaker plans to only launch new all-electric vehicles from that point on and phase out fossil fuel-powered vehicles during the second half of the decade.

Here are the main points of Mercedes-Benz’s electrification plan:

• All newly launched architectures will be electric-only from 2025 onwards.
• In 2025 Mercedes-Benz will launch three electric-only architectures.
• Mercedes-Benz will be ready to go all electric at the end of the decade, where market conditions allow.
• Mercedes-Benz to install battery cell capacity of more than 200 Gigawatt hours with partners, plans for eight Gigafactories.
• New partnerships for development and production of battery cells in Europe.
• Efficiency of electric drivetrains to be enhanced through vertical integration and the acquisition of YASA, a specialist in ultra-high performance axial flux motors.
• Plug & Charge to introduce seamless charging without extra steps needed for authentication and payment. Mercedes me Charge to have more than 530,000 AC and DC charging points worldwide.
• Acceleration of electrification ramp-up marks a radical shift in capital allocation.
• Mercedes-Benz is committed to its margin targets – also in a BEV-world.

Electrek’s Take

As I like to comment when automakers make these kinds of announcements, it’s nice to see them acknowledge the end of the internal combustion engine (ICE) era.

However, the market will decide when they sell their last ICE car and I think it will be before 2030.

But I don’t think Mercedes-Benz is in a bad spot when it comes to electrification.

By next year, they will have an all-electric option in all segments. The bigger question is whether they will be able to deliver them all in volumes.

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