Mercedes-Benz Scales Back EV Shift, ICE-Powered Cars to be Updated
Seeing global EV demand increasing at a much slower pace than anticipated, Mercedes-Benz announced on Thursday that it will update its internal combustion engine lineup well beyond 2030.
This is from an automaker that aimed to sell nothing but EVs by next decade “where market conditions allow it.”
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According to CEO Ola Kaellenius, Mercedes-Benz now expects electrified vehicles—including hybrids—to account for up to 50 percent of the total by 2030 instead of 2026 as previously envisioned.
Europe, which has been an EV leader and pushing for more stringent emissions rules to come into effect, is currently experiencing a slow transition as many people are still hesitant to follow the lead of early adopters.
Kaellenius wants to keep producing ICE-powered models and update the lineup to “take us well into the 2030s," he said, per Reuters.
Mercedes-Benz is far from the only automaker scaling back its EV plans, of course. We’ve already told you about Ford and GM, the latter reversing course and aiming to launch several plug-in hybrids in North America in the coming years as a way to ease the shift to an all-EV portfolio by 2035.