(Original title: Confirm! Mercedes-Benz high-end electric tour is coming)
▲ Kang Linsong
Lei Feng.com: In this era, change is the core theme, and no traditional car company can stand alone.
Recently, Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, announced that the company will cut operating costs by 20% by 2025 and make drastic adjustments to its existing product lines. In terms of electrification, Daimler is not too ambitious.
Although this adjustment may threaten the jobs of thousands of people, Ola Källenius, chairman of the company’s board of directors, still firmly believes that this move is a guarantee that the company can still get single-digit growth in a “disaster year” (such as 2020). Once things get better, growth will return to the double-digit track.
According to the new strategy, Daimler will position the Mercedes-brand. In the future, the well-known three-pointed star brand will benchmark Rolls-Royce and Bentley, focusing on the ultra-luxury car market instead of its traditional luxury car competitors BMW, Audi, Jaguar and Lexus.
In November last year, Daimler stated that the company would lay off 10,000 people in 2022 (the company currently employs 300,000 people). Affected by the new crown epidemic, Daimler stated in June this year that another 10,000 people will be added to the list of layoffs.
Kang Linsong admitted, “We haven’t released our full potential in terms of turning sales into profit. This is why we changed our focus and launched a new strategy. We want to build the most intoxicating car in the world.”
“We will fully release the potential of Daimler’s sub-brands-AMG, Maybach, G and EQ, etc. At the same time, we will concentrate on winning the battle between electric vehicles and in-vehicle software .” Kang Linsong said.
In addition, Kang Linsong also gave Daimler’s zero-emission timetable, and the German giant will bid farewell to traditional diesel engines in 2039. However, 2039 does sound a bit late. After all, in Volkswagen Group’s plan, the era of zero emissions will come in 2030.
Although it did not say which model to cut off, according to the new brand positioning, those low-end models with poor sales and low profit margins will definitely be the first to suffer.
The high-end electric group is coming
Under Daimler’s new strategy, there is also an electric roadmap. Four models based on the electric platform (EVA) will be unveiled one by one starting next year . The EQS sedan will be the first model to use the EVA platform, with a WLTP endurance of more than 700 kilometers.
Followed by EQE sedan and SUV , its size is close to the current E-class sedan and GLE SUV. The EQS SUV version will also be unveiled (similar to GLS). As for the best-selling Big G in the Mercedes-Benz SUV product line, it will become an independent sub-brand.
In addition to the EVA platform, Daimler will also launch the MMA electric platform (Mercedes Modular Architecture) in the second wave, which is suitable for some compact and mid-level cars, but we must wait until 2025.
Of course, electric vehicles based on the existing fuel vehicle platform will also be unveiled one after another, such as the mass-produced EQA at the end of this year and the EQB next year.
In addition, Mercedes-Benz has also built a number of electric models for the high-performance AMG brand, the ultra-luxury Maybach brand and the Big G brand.
In addition to the electric platform, Daimler has also developed a new generation of electric motors, and they have also made great progress in battery technology.
Kang Linsong pointed out that new materials and new processes will greatly increase vehicle endurance while reducing charging time and costs.
Judging from the press conference, Daimler’s ambitions are not small. Even its head of research and development Markus Schäfer firmly believes that the company will become an industry leader in electrification and in-vehicle software.
“By 2030, sales of electric vehicles will account for more than 50%. At the same time, our investment in internal combustion engine research and development will decline rapidly, and the number of internal combustion engine models will also be reduced by 70% in 2030.” Daimler explained.
Kang Linsong was forced to be so bold, after all, when he took over Zetsche’s baton, Daimler was already “wounded.” This year, Conlinsong will stop the car production line in the United States and focus on producing highly profitable and good-selling SUVs. In addition, Daimler’s fuel cell research and development has also been merged with Volvo (behind the Geely relationship).
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