Mercedes-Benz CEO: EVs Are The Future, “Technically Superior” Than ICEs

Ahead of the unprecedented 2035 ICE sales ban across Europe, many European marques now opted to accelerate their transition into a full-blown EV automaker. This includes German automotive giants such as Mercedes-Benz, who see great potential in this new technology to become the de facto means of automobiles in near future.

Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kallenius

Speaking to Autonews Europe during the launch of the next-gen Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kallenius said that the automaker will favour EVs over ICE-powered vehicles, even if they are powered by carbon-neutral synthetic e-fuels.

Kallenius saw that EV technologies, even during its current relative infancy state, is technically superior to the ICEs, with more possibilities yet to be tapped due to several limitations.

"We still see great potential for progress: the electric drive will overtake the internal combustion engine in terms of performance before the end of this decade,” the CEO commented.

Mercedes-Benz EQA EV SUV - one of many Merc EVs currently on sale

Putting their money where their mouths are, Mercedes-Benz are now shifting to the next gear in their EV adoption, reducing up to 80% of their total investments on developing and producing ICE models by the middle of this decade. Kallenius further added that they are currently developing new EV-specific architectures for future EV models.

All in all, these efforts are part of the marque’s plan to achieve its ultimate goal of reaching carbon neutrality  for their business operations by 2039 – which is less than 20 years from now.

Commenting on the sudden surge of ‘affordable’ EVs in the market, especially hailing from China, the firm’s CEO added that this move won’t jeopardise Mercedes-Benz’s firm positioning in the market as a luxury automaker, focusing on the higher-end of the market.

"The new technology we are developing for our luxury models to ensure ecological sustainability will also be used in other cars at some point in the future," the CEO added.

Fifth-gen (W206) Mercedes-Benz C-Class - one of the newer ICE models launched by Mercedes-Benz

As for the remainder years before the penultimate sales ban takes place, Mercedes-Benz will continue to sell ICE-powered cars, especially for developing markets where their EV ecosystems are still lacklustre compared to first-world ones. For new ICE models, the automaker will make them more efficient and compatible with the stringent Euro 7 emission standards.