Mercedes continues to believe that it is necessary to follow the path of electrification to reach Zero CO2, but this - the CEO of the Group Ola Källenius said today during the conference on the 2023 financial results - "is not a straight line path".
An important change in strategy that was underlined with the ICE Tactical Flexibilty which goes alongside the BEV Strategic Consistency, because - he said - "customers and market conditions will determine the pace of the transformation".
A few days ago, moreover, in an interview with the German newspaper Zeit, Källenius stated that Mercedes is working on a portfolio of fully electric models, also saying "that the date on which the last electric engine will be built is not yet known combustion".
In the conference and in the subsequent call with analysts, the CEO of the Mercedes Group provided further details on this duplication of strategy.
The crucial moment for the development of electric sales ("they will be 50% after the middle of the second decade") will coincide with the debut of the first model with the MMA architecture expected by 2024.
Thanks to the industrial application of a new generation of batteries, which should allow - according to Källenius - "a 30% reduction in costs", future electric Mercedes with powers between 150 and 500 kW, i.e. 200 and 680 HP, will guarantee a The WLTP autonomy of 750 km and the possibility of charging at columns up to 300 kW recover 400 km of travel in just 15 minutes.
The company that invented cars with internal combustion engines therefore also confirms the continuation of the life of combustion engines.
"There will not be a completely new architecture, like that of BEVs, for models with combustion engines - said Källenius - but we are working to 'refresh' the existing ones".
"And we are also developing the entire ICE range to respond to future emissions regulations, including those that will come into force in the USA in 2027."
And to the satisfaction of those who still cannot imagine, and buy, a Mercedes other than those with a combustion engine under the bonnet, Källenius also anticipated - in response to an analyst's question - that "about 9-12 months after the debut of the first MMA model, which will be electric, Mercedes will present a new four-cylinder petrol engine."
It will be a high-efficiency engine, designed and developed to become hybrid.
And which sees Mercedes collaborating "with a partner": Källenius did not mention the name of this company, but it is not far-fetched to imagine that it could be the Chinese partner Geely, which operates in internal combustion engines in a joint venture with Renault.
When it was announced in 2023, it was specified that this project - which was joined by the Saudi oil and energy giant Aramco - has the aim of producing up to 5 million transmissions and internal combustion engines per year, hybrid and plug-in hybrids with a full range of cutting-edge powertrains to be supplied globally to multiple manufacturers.
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