The Daimler CEO stressed on Friday the importance of low-emission technologies and innovation, and told CNBC that the auto industry “was in the midst of transformation.”
“Alongside the things we know well, to build, frankly, the most desirable cars in the world, there are two technological trends that we are duplicating: electrification and digitization,” Ola Källenius told CNBC’s Annette Weisbach.
The Stuttgart-based company was “pouring billions into these new technologies,” he added, stating that “they would lead our way to CO2-free driving.” This decade, he went on to say, would be “transformative.”
Källenius’ comments came on the same day that Daimler announced that its Mercedes-Benz Cars division had sold more than 160,000 plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles by 2020, a triple compared to the previous year.
In the fourth quarter of 2020 alone, the German automotive giant said approximately 87,000 xEVs were sold, a term that refers to both plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles.
Daimler added that the share of xEV vehicles in Mercedes-Benz Cars reached 7.4% in 2020, with only 2% in 2019. Looking to the future, the share of xEV vehicles in Mercedes-Benz Cars is expected it will grow to about 13% this year, with several new models to be launched in 2021.
“We have tripled more than sales of our plug-in hybrids and all-electric cars,” Källenius said in a statement posted on the company’s website. “Demand for these vehicles increased dramatically, especially towards the end of the year,” he added.
New goals, symbolic changes
The increase in sales of electric vehicles for Daimler comes at a time when both politicians and companies are looking to adopt low- and zero-emission modes of transportation.
Last month, the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, unveiled its smart and sustainable mobility strategy. Among other things, it aims to have at least 30 million zero-emission cars on the road by 2030.
Drivers ’habits seem to be changing. In the UK, which recently announced plans to stop selling new diesel and petrol vehicles and vans by 2030, demand for battery-powered electric vehicles from road users increased by 185.9% in 2020, with 108,205 new records , according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
Sales of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles reached 66,877 last year, up 91.2%, according to SMMT data. The industry body said that the combined, battery-powered and plug-in hybrid electric cars “accounted for more than one in ten records, compared to one in 30 in 2019.”
During the month of December, the Tesla Model 3, an electric vehicle, was the best-selling car in the UK
In Norway, the uptake of electric vehicles is even more pronounced than in the UK On Tuesday, Reuters, citing the Norwegian Road Federation, reported that battery-powered electric vehicles accounted for 54.3% of new car sales in Norway last year. It was said to be a world record.
Daimler is one of the big automotive companies that wants to play in the electric vehicle industry and challenge Elon Musk’s Tesla.
The Volkswagen Group, for example, is investing 35 billion euros (about $ 42.86 million) in electric vehicles and says it wants to launch approximately 70 fully electric models by 2030.
Nissan is also looking to increase its supply of electric vehicles. In an interview with CNBC last month, Ashwani Gupta, the firm’s chief operating officer, said a “turning point” had been reached in terms of vehicle electrification.
Gupta added that the Japanese company was “ready to address this opportunity around the world.”