Sept. 11, 2017—Daimler’s chief executive Dieter Zetsche said Mercedes-Benz will offer electric versions of all its models by 2022, converting its Smart city car brand to become fully electric, according to Reuters.
Speaking at the company’s investor day in Sindelfingen, Germany, Daimler said it will offer at least 50 electrified versions of Mercedes-Benz passenger cars in hybrid and fully electric car variants.
Because electric cars have a lower margin than combustion-engine cars, Daimler has set itself a more ambitious savings target. The company’s Fit for Leadership 4.0 plan targets savings of $4.8 billion, Daimler said.
This news comes just days after BMW said it will have 12 all-electric cars and 13 hybrids on the market by 2025. Also last week, Jaguar Land Rover said its entire fleet of new vehicles will be electric or hybrid-electric starting in 2020. These companies join Volvo, Volkswagen, Ford and other carmakers that have announced big plans to sell a wide variety of electric and hybrid cars over the next several years.
Ratchet+Wrench has been tracking these EV updates for several months, including a recent talk with Craig Van Batenburg, founder of the Automotive Career Development Center, who discussed the importance of EV and hybrid training for technicians.
