Mercedes-Benz foresees EV-only production lines within a few years

Mercedes-Benz expects
to have factories producing exclusively electric vehicles (EVs)
by the second half of the decade but will steer clear of
building EV-only plants, instead keeping production lines
flexible in line with market demand.

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The carmaker foresees some of its production lines within
factories switching fully to electric even sooner, production
chief Joerg Burzer said in an interview with Reuters.

Also Read | Global electric car shipments to reach 6 million in 2022

“Building a whole new battery-electric vehicle factory takes
time. We have taken another approach,” Burzer said.

“We will certainly have some lines producing only electric
vehicles in the next few years… we also see whole factories
switching to electric – that is a topic for the second half of
the decade.”

The premium carmaker will launch production of its EQE
model, revealed last September at the IAA Mobility show, in
Bremen later this year, followed by Beijing and Tuscaloosa.

Also Read | Mercedes unveils ‘Vision EQXX’ EV concept with 1000 km range

Mercedes is betting on the model, an electric adaptation of
the E-class with a peak range of 660 km, to boost EV unit sales
as it shifts investment away from internal combustion vehicles
and towards electric-only production platforms.

“With the ramp-up of the EQE in Bremen and later in Beijing,
we are coming into a segment where we can deliver at far higher
volumes,” Burzer said.

Just 2.3% of Mercedes-Benz Cars’ sales last year were
battery-electric vehicles, rising to 11% including plug-in
hybrids, which have both an engine and a battery.

As of 2025, it expects electric and hybrid electric cars to
make up 50% of sales, with all-electric cars expected to account
for most of that.

Existing models are all being built in factories also
producing internal combustion engine vehicles, with batteries
transported by rail from the main plant in Sindelfingen to
plants in Germany and Hungary.

Down the line, battery assembly and production could be
brought nearer to car plants as the design of vehicles develops
to integrate the battery more closely into the car, Burzer said.