“Daimler's shift has its price”

While Daimler touts its shift to electric mobility at the IAA motor show in Frankfurt, the carmaker has made it clear to investors that the move will be a costly one, Susanne Preuss reports for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Daimler’s profits are under pressure, leading to a drop in share price. As part of the group’s electric vehicle strategy, it will only offer an electric version of its Smart model in Europe and North America as of 2020. It will offer electric or hybrid versions of all of its more than 50 models by 2022. Daimler aims to make a quarter of its revenue from electric cars by 2025. CEO Dieter Zetsche said by then, battery prices will have fallen to the point where manufacturing electric cars will cost the same as those with combustible engines.

Read the article in German here.

For background, read the CLEW dossiers Frankfurt car show puts spotlight on German carmakers’ troubles and BMW, Daimler, and VW vow to fight in green transport revolution.