Too little demand

Mercedes stops new electric car platform!

(Bild: Mercedes-Benz)

According to a media report, Mercedes-Benz wants to abandon a new platform for the electric top-of-the-range S-Class and E-Class models due to the slower transition of customers to electric cars. Instead of the MB.EA architecture planned from 2028, the existing Electric Vehicle Architecture (EVA2) will be further developed for cost reasons.

This was reported by the "Handelsblatt" newspaper on Monday. The manufacturer did not comment explicitly on the platforms, but explained: "For the further development of our product portfolio, we are making sustainable use of efficiencies between new and existing series." Production is flexibly set up for combustion and electric drives.

"Demand is not keeping pace"
Mercedes-Benz expects to build combustion and electric cars in parallel for longer than originally thought. Mercedes CEO Ola Källenius declared in February that the goal of switching completely to electric cars by 2030 would not be achieved under the right market conditions, as demand would not keep pace.

Instead, the brand with the three-pointed star only expects electrified cars - i.e. purely electric cars and hybrids - to account for up to 50 percent of sales by the end of the decade. Internal combustion models could be sold "well into the 30s" if there is sufficient demand, Källenius said at the Annual General Meeting last week. "The pace of transformation will be determined by market conditions and the wishes of our customers."

The longer transition phase with two drive types has consequences for production. According to Handelsblatt, a new production line should have been created with the completely new MB.EA luxury-class architecture. Until now, conventionally and electrically powered models have been built flexibly on one line at the German plant in Sindelfingen near Stuttgart. This will now be maintained for longer.

Mercedes-Benz is under increasing pressure to cut costs because demand is weakening throughout the industry, which is also reducing the Swabians' profits. US electric car pioneer Tesla is in a similar situation, renewing its existing platform for smaller models instead of developing a new one.