Mercedes boss Ola Källenius (54) expects higher costs for electric cars in the foreseeable future. These could not be passed on to customers one-to-one via the price, he said on Sunday in the run-up to the motor show IAA in Munich. “The intensity of competition will be there.” It is all the more important to work on all parts of the company, such as fixed costs or in sales. “You have to move all these things in order to be able to maintain the same profitability as an ambition on the other side of the transformation.”
For the increasing competition China when asked, Källenius said it was important to stay in the lead. “When an industry is undergoing such fundamental transformation, I think it’s not uncommon for new players to come in,” he said. So far, these have mainly been vehicles in the entry-level segment. It would be naïve to think that they are not also trying to attack the premium segment. Källenius referred to the market entry of Japanese and Korean manufacturers in the past few decades. “There’s nothing you can do but focus on your customer.”
New CLA model promises long range
Mercedes is presenting a concept of the new CLA at the show, which is planned for early 2025. The vehicle will be the first of four future compact models based on the new electric drive platform from Mercedes-Benz MMA. Källenius did not comment on the price. “We will not leave the segment.” With the CLA, Mercedes is in the same league as BMW with its new class.
The energy consumption of the vehicles plays an important role for the Stuttgart company. Källenius announced that the car would only consume twelve kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity per 100 kilometers and would cover a distance of more than 750 kilometers with one battery charge. The electric SUV EQA 350 is currently 17 to 18 kWh. The CLA would be more economical than the current, discontinued Model 3 Tesla, which consumes a good 13 kWh. According to information from company circles, BMW is below 13 kilowatt hours with its new class, which will be produced from 2025. The Munich company does not comment on this.
Applied to the sinking world of the combustion engine, the fuel consumption of the CLA Källenius would be one liter per 100 km. The one-liter car was a goal of the German auto industry in the last century. It was achieved by Volkswagen with the small car XL1, of which only 200 copies were sold.
Petrol variant follows
According to technology boss Markus Schäfer (58), the batteries for the CLA come from the Chinese manufacturer CATL and from Mercedes partner ACC. Iron phosphate battery cells are to be used for the entry-level version. The Stuttgart-based company wants to present a combustion engine in the compact segment later. There will probably not be a diesel version, said technology boss Schäfer.
Mercedes-Benz has announced that it will phase out combustion engines by 2030, with the restriction “if market conditions allow”. It would be too early to only offer electric cars in the compact segment, which is still important for Mercedes, in mid-2025, said Källenius. “We then have this tactical flexibility in the segment.” Mercedes will “have and have to have this flexibility for many, many years,” said Källenius. Mercedes does not know when the last combustion engine will roll off the assembly line. “That will ultimately be decided by the customer.”