RESILIENCE PAVING THE WAY FOR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH FOR MERCEDES SA

RESILIENCE PAVING THE WAY FOR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH FOR MERCEDES SA
Rnews reports on Mercedes Benz South Africa's revenue figures for 2016. Of interest to us are two paragraphs.

Emission-free automobiles are the future: Mercedes-Benz Cars is consolidating all activities in connection with electric mobility under the new product brand EQ and the Concept EQ gives a clear outlook onto a completely new generation of vehicles. Globally Mercedes-Benz Cars plans to launch more than ten electric vehicles by 2025: in all segments from smart to large SUVs. Parent company Daimler expects that until 2025 the proportion of electric vehicles in total unit sales of Mercedes-Benz will be between 15 and 25 percent. This is dependent on the development of infrastructure and client preferences.

If Mercedes Benz prediction of their own sales of electric vehicles by 2025 is going to be relected in the overall market than this is a far more realistic and optimistic outlook for electric mobility than the recent BP forecast that predicted by 2035 electric vehicles will account for 6% of the global fleet.

"Our hybrid offering of the Mercedes-Benz C 350 e and the S 500 e is the current e-mobility solution for our local customers due to the long-distances travelled in southern Africa. With the extension of the mileage of electric models, from 200 km - 500 km we will actively look at bringing electric vehicles to South Africa in the future. We are on board with this project, and will work with the industry to find solutions to provide charging infrastructure and battery exchange programmes," concludes Seidler.

Good news that Mercedes are actively looking at bringing electric vehicles into South Africa. With Germany wanting to ban petrol and diesel powered vehicles from her roads in the not too distant future, Mercedes will be forced to go electric to stay relevant in their home country. Obviously the range of vehicles available in South Africa and elsewhere will be a reflection of what they will be producing for their home market.

It's also reassuring to see them mention ranges of 500kms. Tesla has already achieved this with the latest incarnation of the Model S and this should be the minimum requirement for anyone bring out a luxury electric vehicle from now on.