Mercedes Is About to Unveil an Entire Fleet of Electrified Vehicles
Mercedes Is About to Unveil an Entire Fleet of Electrified Vehicles
Mercedes to Take On BMW, Tesla With Electrified Car Lineup
Mercedes-Benz is planning its own distinct line of electrical vehicles, challenging BMW and Tesla Motors Inc. in a bet that alternative-fuel cars have the potential to become profitable.
Mercedes will add two electrified sport utility vehicles and two sedans, according to two people familiar with the plan, who asked not to be named because the details haven’t been disclosed. Mercedes will create a fresh sub-brand for the cars, however a name hasn’t been chosen yet, one of the people said. Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche said in June that the company planned to unveil an electrified car at the Paris motor demonstrate in September.
Tesla’s success with the Model S sedan enhanced the pressure on other luxury-car makers, even as the U.S. company fights with missed financial goals and delays in fresh models. Germany’s luxury-market leaders need to demonstrate they too can make electrical innovations that capture the imagination of buyers, and they’re facing emissions regulations that require low-pollution vehicles. Yet customers in Mercedes’s home market of Germany, in particular, have been skeptical of limited driving range, long charging times, comparatively high prices and at times quirky designs.
Positions Reversed
Mercedes had previously stuck to adding batteries and electrical motors to existing models, a cheaper solution than rival BMW AG’s investment in carbon fiber and futuristic design for its “i” brand. Now their positions are reversed: BMW’s  holding off on a fresh “i” model for another five years. Mercedes will commence selling its electrified line-up before the end of the decade, one of the people familiar with the plans said.
In addition to the e-cars, Mercedes parent  Daimler AG is planning its very first all-electric heavy-duty delivery truck by the begin of the next decade. The company has also promised electrified versions of each of the vehicles in the Brainy city-car brand.
“When Tesla embarked coming up many years ago we determined at the time, and I believe correctly, that the technology wasn’t fairly ready,” Wolfgang Bernhard, Daimler’s trucks chief, said in an interview last week at the urban e-truck’s unveiling. “Now we believe the time has come to earn money in e-mobility over the next five to ten years.”
Christoph Sedlmayr, a spokesman for Daimler, declined to comment on the number and model type of electrical cars planned, while adding there will be more than one.
Bremen Factory
The very first of the fresh electrical autos will be produced at the company’s factory in Bremen, Germany, according to one person familiar with the plans. From next year, the Bremen plant will also build a fuel-cell electrified version of the GLC SUV that can be charged both with hydrogen and at a wall socket.
The prototype set to be introduced in September will be an SUV capable of driving about five hundred kilometers (310) miles on a single charge. It will also demonstrate the distinct design Mercedes has developed to set its electrified cars apart.
Mercedes’ previous efforts to establish clean-driving cars had mixed results. A fuel-cell version of the B-Class sold few vehicles because of a patchy refueling network and high costs. Otherwise, the brand restricted itself to electrified versions of existing models such as Brainy and the boxy B-Class, which had a 155-kilometer range. 
BMW’s earnings this week demonstrated some positive potential for electric-car sales. A fresh version of the i3 city car helped shove deliveries of alternative-drive vehicles up eighty seven percent in the very first half, the company said.