Mercedes sketches out all-electric scenario by decade's end

Luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz is stepping up its move into electric cars

FRANKFURT, Germany -- Daimler AG's luxury car brand Mercedes-Benz says it is stepping up its transition to electric cars, doubling the share of sales planned by 2025 and sketching out a market scenario in which new car sales would “in essence” be fully electric by the end of the decade. The shift to electric vehicles “is picking up speed — especially in the luxury segment, where Mercedes-Benz belongs," said Ola Kallenius, CEO of Daimler AG and also head of the Mercedes-Benz division. ”The tipping point is getting closer and we will be ready as markets switch to electric-only by the end of this decade." The company plans to invest 40 billion euros ($47 billion) in battery-driven vehicles between 2022 and 2080. It says it also intends to work with partners on setting up eight factories producing battery cells — the individual components that are assembled into larger battery packs in different vehicles. The company said Thursday it foresaw half its sales as battery-only or plug-in hybrid cars by 2025, up from a quarter in previous forecasts. In the first six months of this year, such vehicles were 10.3% percent of total sales. The company sold 39,000 battery cars and 121,500 plug-in hybrids, which combine a battery with internal combustion.