Daimler and Mercedes-Benz are going all-in on electric vehicles, planning on spending 40 billion euros ($47 billion) by 2030.
Most automakers are working to transition toward all-electric vehicles, with many committed to doing so within the next decade. Daimler and Mercedes-Benz join the list of automakers shooting to make that transition by 2030, even building eight battery plants to help power its ambitions.
“We really want to go for it … and be dominantly, if not all electric, by the end of the decade,” Chief Executive Ola Källenius said in an interview with Reuters.
Källenius’ statement comes with an asterisk, however. Daimler plans to spin off its truck division — one of the most difficult classes of vehicles to transition to electric — and rename itself Mercedes-Benz. As a result, the company’s plans don’t include whatever happens with the truck division.
Källenius also cautions against focusing too much on a hard line when no gasoline or diesel engines will be manufactured.
“We need to move the debate away from when you build the last combustion engine because it’s not relevant,” Källenius said. “The question is how quickly can you scale up to being close to 100% electric and that’s what we’re focusing on.”
Even with the asterisk, however, Mercedes-Benz’s announcement is good news for the electric vehicle industry.