The Mercedes-Benz CLA Electric Edition is believed to be an attempt by the German automaker to reduce production costs to create a more affordable electric car model – Photo: Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius’ comments came as the German automaker revealed its latest electric vehicle architecture, the CLA model, which will launch next year and aims to increase driving range by 30-35%.
“The variable costs of electric cars are high and will remain so for the foreseeable future,” Källenius told reporters at the IAA auto show in Munich (Germany). Variable costs that affect the price of electric vehicles include battery raw materials, software development, and electricity prices.
However, he confirmed that the costs would not be entirely passed on to customers. He said Mercedes-Benz is trying to optimize fixed costs and resource allocation to bring the electric car’s profits closer to those of the internal combustion engine.
The above statement once again shows that making affordable electric cars is not easy. Currently, the cheapest electric car model of Mercedes-Benz is EQB with a starting price of 54,000 USD (1.3 billion VND, in Vietnam it is 2,289 billion VND).
Meanwhile, the corresponding internal combustion engine model GLB has a selling price of 2,089 billion VND (AMG version) in Vietnam, and it is not even the company’s cheapest model.
Although the car brought to Munich is a concept, Mercedes-Benz said it is “very close to production”, suggesting that many elements of this car model will be retained in the commercial version – Photo: Mercedes-Benz
At the IAA, Mercedes-Benz introduced an electric version of the CLA concept as a result of its efforts to cut costs and create a more affordable electric car.
Asked how much the new CLA reduces costs compared to the previous generation, Mercedes-Benz Chief Technology Officer Markus Schaefer said the company wants to significantly reduce battery costs.
Accordingly, the batteries for the pure electric Mercedes-Benz CLA will be produced by CATL (a partner of VinFast) and ACC (1/3 owned by Mercedes).
Schaefer said the new Mercedes-Benz CLA will go into production next year and hit the market in 2025. And this model is an attempt to simplify the complex development and production process that has grown tremendously over the years.
(TagstoTranslate)electric car
