So far, CEO Dieter Zetsche has only gone so far as to publicly state that a single electric auto would be unveiled at a motor show in Paris in September. Instead of labeling cars from those sub-brands “Mercedes-Benz”, they are sold as Mercedes-AMG and Mercedes-Maybach to further differentiate from the rest of the lineup. But it appears the company is actually developing two electric sport-utility vehicles and two sedans in a bet that electric cars will continue to gain popularity, Bloomberg said, citing a source close to the company.
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Tesla’s success with the Model S sedan has pressured other luxury-car makers to veer into the alternative-fuel market. It must talk its native German market around widespread skepticism towards the long charge times, limited range and high price of current electric cars.
In addition to the e-cars, Mercedes parent Daimler AG is planning its first all-electric heavy-duty delivery truck by 2020.
“When Tesla started coming up many years ago we decided at the time, and I believe correctly, that the technology wasn’t quite ready”, Wolfgang Bernhard, Daimler’s trucks chief, said in an interview last week.
Mercedes has also considered offering electric versions of each of the vehicles in its Smart city-car brand, Bloomberg reports. The first, which is the one that we’ll apparently see at the Paris show, will be an SUV, with an impressive max range of about 500 km (310 miles) on one charge.
Mercedes’ new electric cars are expected to feature a level of sophistication comparable to or superior to the automaker’s existing cars. Previously, the company only produced electric versions of existing cars, such as its B-class models.
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BMW’s earnings this week showed some positive potential for electric-car sales.
