​Mercedes-Benz to continue combustion car sales “well into 2030s”

Mercedes-Benz will continue to sell combustion-engined cars “well into the 2030s” as it adjusts to changing demand for its electric vehicles, the company’s CEO has said.

Mercedes announced in 2021 that it planned to become all-electric “wherever market conditions allow” by 2030.

“Artificially trying to hit the number by pushing product into the market doesn't make sense,” Mercedes CEO Ola Källenius told investors on the company’s earnings call on Thursday.

Mercedes has also dialled back plans for 50% of sales to be either electric or plug-in hybrid by 2025, now stating that it plans for “up to 50%” of its sales to comprise those electrified drivetrains “in the second half of the decade”.

The decision “looks pragmatic given a bumpier road to adoption, notably in North America,” wrote Jefferies bank analyst Philippe Houchois in a note to investors.

Mercedes has been hit by a weakening in demand for electric vehicles and forecast that the share of its plug-in cars would remain flat at between 19-21% of overall sales in 2024. Last year, those drivetrains accounted for 20% of sales, up from 16% the year before.

“Changing the whole energy infrastructure behind mobility is a very, very big task,” said Källenius. “We have to realise that there can be peaks and troughs in this transition.”