Mercedes stopped work on the ‘MB.EA-Large’ EV technology platform

As reported by the German Handelsblatt newspaper, citing four insiders, the development of the “MB.EA-Large” has been put on hold. The reason for this is the disappointing sales figures for current luxury electric cars, which are forcing Mercedes to make “tough cuts”, according to the report. The investment volume for the development of the platform is said to be at least in the mid-single-digit billion range.

When asked by electrive, a spokesperson for the company told us in more general terms that Mercedes-Benz is utilising “sustainable efficiencies between new and existing model series” for the further development of its product portfolio and that market conditions and customer wishes determine the pace of transformation. “We will build the perfect Mercedes for every customer requirement. We will be able to flexibly offer vehicles with both fully electric drive systems and electrified high-tech combustion engines well into the 2030s.” To this end, production has been set up with drive flexibility. This no longer sounds like the “electric only” strategy that was previously pursued quite stringently.

In mid-2021, the Group management announced that Mercedes-Benz would be debuting three new all-electric platforms from 2025: The Stuttgart-based company announced the MB.EA as the platform that will cover all medium-sized and large passenger cars above the MMA (for the CLA, as well as the next generation of the EQA and EQB) and “form the electric basis of the future BEV portfolio as a scalable modular system.” The AMG.EA “electric platform designed for peak performance” has been announced for the performance models. Electric vans and light commercial vehicles are also to be launched on the market based on the new VAN.EA. All other new platforms should subsequently also be purely electric, it was said.

The car manufacturer had two different versions in mind for the MB.EA platform: The MB.EA-Medium for the C-Class and GLC and the MB.EA-Large for the large electric vehicles such as the S-Class, GLS, E-Class and GLE. The latter is now the subject of the “Handelsblatt” report. It is to fall victim to the need to economise. Instead, the production process for future large luxury models will be based in part on the existing EVA2 architecture. EVA2 is the 400-volt platform on which the EQE and EQS series are based, i.e. both the saloons and the corresponding SUV models (including the Maybach offshoot of the EQS SUV). According to earlier rumours, the EVA2 could be about to switch to 800 volts system voltage. However, this has not been confirmed.

According to Handelsblatt, the suspected development stop of the MB.EA-Large platform – on which the manufacturer itself does not wish to comment – is part of a larger strategic reorientation at Mercedes-Benz. The background to this is said to be a misjudgement by Group CEO Ola Källenius, according to which sales of e-cars should increase more quickly. Mercedes wanted to sell only electric cars by the end of the decade – with the restriction “wherever market conditions allow”. Plug-in hybrids were then no longer to be sold either. The interim target of 50:50 per cent electric cars and combustion engines in 2025 still includes plug-in hybrids in the electric share.

As this cannot be maintained, the life cycles of important combustion engine model series will now have to be extended and money spent on model upgrades, according to the Handelsblatt. “In the coming years, Mercedes faces the expensive and extremely complex task of keeping its portfolio of combustion engines and electric cars up to date,” it says. Mercedes is thus following the course of its competitor BMW, which has never embarked on an “electric only” strategy.

At the Annual General Meeting last Wednesday, Ola Källenius made the following statement: “In the coming years, there will be both: Electric cars and ultra-modern, electrified combustion engines. If the demand is there, well into the 2030s.” Strategically, Mercedes is focussing on zero emissions. “That is certain,” says the Group boss. “But the transformation could take longer than expected.”

handelsblatt.com (in German)