Electrification Plan Postponed, Mercedes-Benz Disburses More Funds For New ICE Machine Development

Mercedes-Benz S-Class. (Doc. Mercedes-Benz AG)

JAKARTA - Some time ago, Mercedes-Benz decided to postpone its complete electrification plan and chose to take a flexible approach by developing the latest ICE combustion engine (ICE) technology.

Recently, Mercedes-Benz announced investing in ICE engines including 14 billion euros (IDR 245.3 billion) for a number of R&D factories or centers working on hybrid drivetrains of passenger cars that will last until the next decade.

Launching from Wirtschaftswoche written by Automotive News, Saturday, June 29, this luxury manufacturer also invests more heavily in the development of combustion engines from the latest S-Class model. It is stated that this luxury sedan will enter the market in mid-2026.

Our engines will always be at the highest level of technology. Otherwise, we will suddenly stop our combustion engine business from 2027 to 2028," said Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kallenius.

Previously, the company had prepared to fully produce EVs in 2030. However, studies conducted by Mercedes-Benz reveal that PHEV and EV cars are likely to only generate half of its global sales.

Thus, the manufacturer also changed its plans by continuing production of the A-Class model until 2026, which was previously scheduled to be turned off after this year.

In preparation for continuing production of A-Class, the manufacturer has changed the Rastatt factory in Germany in order to produce cars with the MFA platform for compact vehicles and MMA for electric vehicles.

According to Mercedes-Benz, the MMA platform is designed for different types of powertrains, both ICE, PHEV, and EV. This architecture was first introduced at the CLA Concept in September last year.

The manufacturer will set up the latest CLA with Mercedes' M282 engine and will also be used on a number of vehicles under the future Geely, Lynk & Co, and Volvo badges.