{"id":237351,"date":"2018-04-12T08:52:37","date_gmt":"2018-04-12T06:52:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=237351"},"modified":"2018-04-12T08:52:37","modified_gmt":"2018-04-12T06:52:37","slug":"mercedes-plans-to-launch-electric-s-class-to-challenge-tesla","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/motoring\/237351\/mercedes-plans-to-launch-electric-s-class-to-challenge-tesla\/","title":{"rendered":"Mercedes plans to launch electric S-Class to challenge Tesla"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mercedes-Benz is developing a battery-powered sedan about the size of its $90,000 flagship S-Class, challenging Tesla Inc.\u2019s Model S for high-end electric-car buyers.<\/p>\n

The new full-size sedan, dubbed EQ S, will be part of the Daimler AG unit\u2019s push to introduce 10 all-electric vehicles by 2022, Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche said Wednesday during the presentation of the revamped Mercedes A-Class hatchback in Split, Croatia.<\/p>\n

The EQ line will be flanked by plug-in hybrid models offering a \u201ctotally different\u201d battery range than today, while conventional vehicles will feature so-called mild hybrids with 48-volt technology in a shift away from pure combustion power. \u201cAll vehicles will be electrified,\u201d Zetsche said.<\/p>\n

Mercedes, the world\u2019s best-selling luxury-car maker, had record deliveries and profit last year as it defended the global top spot against BMW AG\u2019s namesake brand and Volkswagen AG\u2019s Audi marque.<\/p>\n

But surging costs for the development of battery-powered cars and new digital offerings, plus possible trade barriers in the U.S. and China – Mercedes\u2019s two largest markets – threaten to weigh on profit margins.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to increase flexibility in local production as the world in general has become more volatile,\u201d Zetsche said.<\/p>\n

He reiterated it was too early to comment on potential risks from trade barriers, adding that recent developments in Russia related to stricter planned U.S. sanctions coincided with more encouraging signals in China about potentially easing rules for outside investors.<\/p>\n

China Opportunities<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe would of course welcome additional opportunities,\u201d Zetsche said, referring to China possibly easing caps on ownership of joint ventures for foreign manufacturers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a very good cooperation with BAIC in China and might come to the conclusion that there won\u2019t be any change. But of course it\u2019s better to have more instead of fewer options.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mercedes will meet China\u2019s planned electric-car quota, Zetsche said.<\/p>\n

Daimler is open to exploring ways to cooperate with the company\u2019s new largest shareholder, Li Shufu, as long as the interests of the company\u2019s already existing Chinese joint-venture partner BAIC Motor Corp. are safeguarded.<\/p>\n

Possible cooperation projects don\u2019t necessarily have to be restricted to China, but Daimler\u2019s ties with Renault SA, Nissan Motor Co. and BMW might limit global opportunities. \u201cWe\u2019re not dogmatically closed,\u201d Zetsche said.<\/p>\n

Mercedes sees potential for a \u201csignificant lift in volumes\u201d as it expands its lineup of compact cars to eight from five currently, Zetsche said. Adding smaller, affordable models like the GLA compact crossover and the CLA coupe, helped Mercedes lure younger buyers from rivals and that trend is expected to continue with the revamped A-Class hatchback, he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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Read:\u00a0The most popular luxury cars and SUVs in South Africa<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mercedes-Benz is developing a battery-powered sedan about the size of its $90,000 flagship S-Class, challenging Tesla Inc.\u2019s Model S for high-end electric-car buyers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":237353,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11119],"tags":[26,12987],"class_list":["post-237351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motoring","tag-headline","tag-mercedes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237351"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237351\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":237361,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237351\/revisions\/237361"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}