The R&D department of German multinational automotive company Daimler AG has announced to the country’s media that it will invest at least $10 billion into electric vehicles in the next five years.
Due mainly to modern advances in battery technology, but also a host of diesel fume scandals, German motor firms are boosting their investments in the clean car market, feeling the operational range and cost margins for battery powered engines can now be profitable in the long-term.
Daimler is not the only company chancing their arm on the new developments in electric cars, which is allowing them to travel up to 50 percent farther. Volkswagen, Continental and Bosch are also investing significant seed money into the technology.
A statement by Daimler recently said, “In the next 10 years we want a range of different models that can handle the new electric technology, and for this we are happy to invest at least 9 billion euros over the next three to five years.”
The company says the cars operational range will be between 600 and 800 kilometres and four of the six new models will be branded as smart vehicles. Sources close to the company say it has moved into the electric market in an attempt to compete with the likes of Audi and Tesla, who are both building huge new factories in China, taking advantage of the substantial subsidies in the world’s biggest car market for environmentally friendly four wheelers.
“Regardless of their new electric car plans I don’t think there is any possibility Daimler will pull completely out of the diesel car market in America,” said Anthony Russell, Senior Vice President at Monex BMO Securities in a BBC interview on Tuesday.
“There had been reports that the company were going to stop sales of diesel, and its correct that diesel models account for only around two or three percent of their car sales in 2016, but there was a denial by Mercedes in De Spiegel that diesel would be dropped,” Russell added.
Similar to other car manufacturers, Daimler is conducting an internal probe into its diesel exhaust certification process by request of the U.S. Justice Department. The company said that the investigation was unrelated to their decreased focus on making diesel models.
