Mercedes-Benz does it, Porsche does it, actually somehow all the established manufacturers do it. You talk a lot about the future of electromobility and set the course in the development departments, but in the here and now the combustion engines are being cared for again. That’s no wonder, the speeds of transformation are quite different around the world, Europe is moving towards fully electric driving earlier, China and North America later, some regions not at all. So if you want to sell globally, you need more supply than ever before, and the costs for this are certainly not going to decrease. And the customers are concerned with the question: what to take now? Buy or lease? What will happen to my new petrol or diesel engine in ten years, how can I still sell it then? If battery technology makes a leap, will my electric car, which I bought too early, become worthless?
Holger Apple
Editor in business, responsible for “Technology and Engine”.
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In this tricky situation, the plug-in hybrid is recommended as a bridge, but no one knows how far it will go. It is already said that in about three years the combination of combustion engine and battery drive will come to the end of its technical development. We don’t know if that’s the case, but the fact that Mercedes-Benz is the unrivaled soloist along the way is worth a closer look.