A striking message from the corner of Mercedes-Benz. While the brand presented its first plug-in hybrid AMG model at the IAA in Munich, it also says that from now on it will no longer invest a euro in the development of PHEV technology.
Development chief Markus Schäfer has told the German Handelsblatt that from now on it will not invest further in the development of plug-in hybrid powertrains. That does not mean that Mercedes-Benz is definitively pulling the plug on its plug-in hybrids. In the coming years, plug-ins with the current PHEV technology will be launched on the market and the existing plug-in hybrids will also remain available. According to Schäfer, it is less complex for Mercedes-Benz to focus entirely on the development of electric cars in the field of electrification.
The timing of Schäfer’s statements seems a bit unfortunate. The IAA currently in Munich is not only the stage on which a completely new electric model, two electric precursors and the first fully electric AMG model ever, but also a new plug-in hybrid debuted. We are talking about the AMG GT 63 S E-Performance, an 843 hp plug-in hybrid top version of the AMG GT 4-Door. The technology that Mercedes-AMG introduced in that car will in any case seep through to other AMG models in the coming years.
Mercedes-Benz wants to have a fully electric model in every segment from 2025. With the EQA, EQB, EQC, EQE, EQS, eCitan/EQT EQV, the brand has come a long way.