Mercedes-AMG plans to continue producing internal combustion engines for as long as legislation allows, and the high-performance carmaker is not placing an end date to their production, Autocar reported. The statement from the German automaker’s high-performance arm comes as demand for EVs in Europe softens, according to the publication.
While AMG has not placed a date on the phasing out of internal combustion engines from the high-performance division’s cars, the brand still sees its future as an electric-only carmaker if legislation to ban ICE-powered vehicles is carried through, said Mercedes-AMG CEO Michael Schiebe.
“We have no end date, but that would also be a very dogmatic discussion. Our main purpose is to satisfy customer needs. We still see there are many customers that love our V8 engines and our high-performance four-cylinder engines. We don’t put an end date on it, but I’m pretty convinced that AMG will become an all-electric company,” Schiebe said.
While Mercedes-Benz had reportedly cancelled development for the MB.EA Large platform for its large electric vehicle models earlier this year, Schiebe confirmed that work is ongoing for the AMG.EA bespoke architecture for fully electric AMG models, and that he has been driving prototypes of these models on a weekly basis.
“We will see an all-electric AMG car sooner rather than later, and then we will see how many customers jump on this technology. We will have pure ICE, the [hybrids] and then all-electric, but at the moment there’s legislation in Europe at least to end the combustion engine in 2035. If this is the case, we will deliver high-performance all-electric cars. I don’t want to put a specific date or strategic direction because we are fully flexible here,” Schiebe said.
The head of AMG also admitted that the PHEV four-cylinder powertrain in the latest Mercedes-AMG C 63 S E Performance has received lukewarm reception as some customers “take time to really be excited for the technology”, though he added that AMG had also gained new customers with the model.
“At AMG we are a technology brand, and we don’t want to say it’s only the V8 and we’ll do that forever. It’s important to be open-minded when it comes to technology,” he said.
While Schiebe says that AMG “took the right decision and you will be excited once we hit the market” with the upcoming AMG CLE 63, Autocar had previously reported that the coupé’s performance flagship will revert to a twin-turbocharged petrol V8 engine, citing sales of the PHEV four-cylinder W206 C 63 which have been “well below those of their V8 predecessors” across global markets.
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