By Victoria Waldersee
MUNICH (Reuters) – Mercedes-Benz does not expect its sales in Europe to be all-electric by 2030 but will have its line-up ready, Chief Executive Ola Kaellenius said in an interview at the Munich car show.
The premium carmaker has long said it is targeting all-electric sales by 2030 “where markets allow”, saying customers will ultimately decide what product they want and pointing to the need for infrastructure to support the transition to EVs.
Europe’s EV market had grown significantly in recent years but likely wouldn’t be ready for all-electric sales by 2030, Kaellenius said on the sidelines of the Munich show.
“It’s not going to be 100% in 2030, obviously… from the whole European market, but probably from the Mercedes side as well,” he said.
“We will be ready … but we will also have tactical flexibility,” he said, referring to the ability to produce electric or combustion-engine vehicles on the same production line.
In China, the chief executive said he expected the transition from combustion engines to EVs in the premium segment, which has not benefited from the same government support as volume car production, to take “many years”.
“Step by step, you have to convert the market,” he said, adding the current economic slowdown would not impact their strategy in the country in the long term.
(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Miranda Murray)
