Mercedes Benz is reportedly planning to roll out a fleet of electric cars, as it prepares to take on the likes of Tesla and BMW. Mercedes said earlier this year that it plans to unveil an electric car at the upcoming 2016 Paris Motor Show. In addition to the EV concept, the Stuttgart-based company is also developing two electric SUVs and two sedans.
The electric vehicles market is continue to evolve and grow, as Tesla is struggling to build manufacturing capacity to fulfill orders for the Model 3. BMW is also working on new electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, starting with a rumored i5 crossover.
When speaking with Autocar in May, Ola Källenius, Head of Sales and Marketing for Mercedes, said that the Stuttgart-based brand would not be creating a specific sub-brand for alternative fuel technologies for the foreseeable future. “We could choose for the purpose-made electric vehicles to create some sort of sub-brand but, right now, Mercedes is focused on investing tremendous resources into the path towards zero emissions. It’s something that will affect the whole portfolio.”
At the moment, Mercedes-Benz is looking to increase its entire lineup’s use of alternative fuel and zero-emissions technologies. Mercedes also wants to have the widest plug-in hybrid lineup in the industry.
Currently, the only electric car that Mercedes-Benz has to offer is the B Class, but the brand will also be adding two Smart cars to that by the end of this year. Mercedes will be looking to add more and more zero-emission models to the range, including a fuel-cell vehicle based on the GLC platform by the end of next year. BMW is also working on a fuel-cell vehicle in collaboration with Toyota.
[Source: Bloomberg]
