Mercedes-Benz to go all electric by 2030, will have 8 centres to make batteries

Mercedes Benz has become the latest luxury carmaker to announce its electric vehicle strategy for the future. Already aggressive with its EV push in different markets, Mercedes now plans to become an all-electric car brand by the end of this decade.

In a detailed announcement of its future EV strategy today, Mercedes-Benz also revealed details about how it is going to address challenges regarding batteries, EV architecture and other aspects.

In a video address, Ola Kallenius, CEO of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG, said, "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."

According to the EV roadmap, Mercedes aims to have battery electric vehicles in all segments the company serves by next year, and within another four year, it aims to offer an all-electric vehicle for every model the company produces. Mercedes will introduce as many as four fully-electric cars by the end of this year itself. By next year, Mercedes will also drive in the SUV versions of EQE as and EQS and by 2024, it will launch the first full-electric G-Class.

All new Mercedes vehicle architectures will be electric only after the launch of MMA, the compact electric first architecture, in the next four years. Mercedes will introduce three new EV-only architectures, called the MB.EA, AMG.EA and VAN.EA. MB.EA will cover all medium to large size vehicles and eventually replace the rear wheel based architecture (MRA) as well as the first dedicated electric platform (EVA). AMG.EA will be a dedicated performance electric vehicle architecture addressing technology and performance oriented AMG customers. The VAN.EA architecture will be used for purpose made electric light commercial vehicles.

Mercedes also plans to set up as many as eight gigafactories, or manufacturing facilities, to develop its own electric vehicle batteries. Markus Schafer, Chief Operating Officer at the R&D division of Mercedes Benz, said, "If we want to get ready for 100% electric cars, then we also need to step up our game when it comes to batteries. They are the centrepiece of every electric vehicle."

According to Mercedes, to achieve 100 per cent fully-electric fleet in another 10 years, it requires a capacity of more than 200 Gigawatt hours. The new gigafactories, to be set up in collaboration with its partners around the world. One of the gigafactories will be set up in the US, while four other factories will be set up in Europe with the existing strategic partners of the carmaker and with a new one.