At the 2024 Beijing Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz brought as many as 21 heavyweight models, covering a variety of drive modes and various market segments.
Among them, the off-road totem Mercedes-Benz G-Class pure electric off-road vehicle made its global debut; seven models including the new Mercedes-Benz CLE convertible coupe made their China debut and auto show debut.
Taking advantage of the Beijing Auto Show, Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, who visited China three times in five weeks and spent more time in China than in Germany, accepted an exclusive interview with the media. The Mercedes-Benz he leads is trying to explain to the public how, as a century-old traditional luxury brand, it will "surpass Mercedes-Benz among Mercedes-Benz."
Times are changing, but Mercedes-Benz standards remain the same
Mercedes-Benz is accelerating its electrification transformation. The obvious change is that its high-end luxury products, the G-Class SUV, AMG and Maybach have all launched pure electric versions, which means that all Mercedes-Benz brands currently provide customers with pure electric options.
Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz AG
In this regard, Ola Kallenius said that it is up to customers to decide when to switch from fuel vehicles to electric vehicles. But Mercedes-Benz always strives to be the best, so it is committed to providing customers with products of various drive forms in all market segments. What remains unchanged is that in the electric era, Mercedes-Benz's new energy vehicles will uphold the same Mercedes-Benz standards. The Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class concept car is a concentrated display of this standard.
"Safety, quality, durability, comfort, driving feel, etc., on this basis, there is also elegant and classic design, plus technology and digitalization, all combined together constitute the Mercedes-Benz standard," said Ola Källenius.
"The most basic requirement for a good car is whether you can safely leave your children in it." Among these, he particularly emphasized Mercedes-Benz's "no compromise" on safety.
Ola Källenius said, "Mercedes-Benz is accelerating its transformation, but we will not rush to bring semi-finished products to the market. Mercedes-Benz may do more testing than other manufacturers before releasing the technology internally."
In addition, Mercedes-Benz still pays attention to creating a sense of luxury for its users in the details. The CLA-class concept car showcases the electrification and digital technology innovations of the Mercedes-Benz Modular Architecture (MMA) platform and the self-developed new architecture MB.OS operating system.
But Mercedes-Benz is more concerned about "the balance between the various elements, so that high technology and timeless design can be better combined." In Ola Kallenius's view, in order to create a sense of luxury, it is important to form an overall style. "We pay attention to every detail. Even if you close your eyes, you know you are sitting in a Mercedes-Benz car."
Keep up with market developments while maintaining balance and patience
China is the largest market for Mercedes-Benz and also one of the most competitive markets in the world, with price wars taking place all the time.
Ola Kallenius said Mercedes-Benz will not join the price war, and the current price war is mainly concentrated in the market below 300,000 yuan. However, the market above 300,000 yuan where Mercedes-Benz is located is still full of opportunities. "From a long-term development perspective, we are optimistic about the development trend of China's economy. The high-net-worth population or the population with higher income will increase, and they have the demand for luxury travel, which means that our customer base will continue to expand and there will be more opportunities." Ola Kallenius said, "Mercedes-Benz will keep up with the development of the market while maintaining strategic balance and patience."
At the same time, Ola Kallenius also said that the European anti-subsidy investigation will not affect Mercedes-Benz's electrification strategy. Mercedes-Benz will continue to increase its investment in electrification.
Last year, Mercedes-Benz invested 10 billion euros in the research and development of the next generation of new energy vehicles, autonomous driving assistance systems and digital systems. With the launch of the Mercedes-Benz Modular Platform (MMA), MB.EA, AMG.EA and VAN.EA, every Mercedes-Benz model will have a pure electric version in the future.
However, electrification is only one of the key measures to achieve Mercedes-Benz's vision of 2039.
Mercedes-Benz's 2039 vision is to achieve a sustainable closed loop for its new passenger car lineup in the entire value chain and the entire life cycle of the vehicle - from research and development, supply chain, production system, to the electrification of the product lineup, the application of renewable energy in the use of electric vehicles, and vehicle recycling - by 2039 at the latest. "And China is one of the pillars for us to achieve sustainable development," said Ola Kallenius.
As the inventor of the automobile, Mercedes-Benz has always been leading technological innovation and product upgrades to promote brand development with its indelible innovative spirit and luxury genes. In the future, Mercedes-Benz will continue to build a desirable luxury brand and surpass Mercedes-Benz among Mercedes-Benzes.
