Mercedes Ending Development Of Hybrid Cars To Focus On EVs

Starting from 2025, Mercedes Benz will only be introducing electric vehicle platforms which is part of a concentrated effort from the German giant to have an emissions-free portfolio by the end of the decade. It has already been stated that this future means more or less the end of body styles like sedans and station wagons, but it has also revealed this means the end of plugin hybrid vehicles. This was confirmed by a German newspaper on the sidelines of the IAA Mobility conference in which Daimler executives shared that they wouldn't be developing hybrid powertrains anymore. That being said, they revealed for the foreseeable future the Mercedes AMG GT 63 E Performance 4-Door Coupe will be used in upcoming models but now extra money will be spent on the development of a platform that's deemed dead. 

(The EQE gets a sloping roofline at the rear)

"No further new developments are planned," Markus Schafer, Daimler board member responsible for research and development, told Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper in Munich. "The investments have been made, to that extent, we are using them," he added. 

Plug-in hybrids have always been a transitional technology bridging the gap between range anxiety and infrastructure-related issues with fully electric vehicles. In markets like Europe, China and North America, these issues are being mitigated fast with the development of more efficient powertrains, better charging technology coupled with infrastructure and new battery technologies. 

At IAA Mobility, the Daimler owned Mercedes Benz brand showcased several electric versions of its iconic models like the EQE, the electric Maybach SUV, the EQG concept and the EQS AMG model.