Electric vehicles: BMW and Mercedes-Benz make big announcements
The plans of German automakers BMW and Mercedes-Benz for electric vehicles have been revised more than once in the last two years, as a result of weakening demand in this market, so it can be difficult to know exactly where these great rivals stand at the moment.
What we do know from BMW is that 2025 will mark the start of its new generation of electric models, dubbed Neue Klasse, with the production of an SUV based on the Vision Neue Klasse X concept.
This week, the Bavarian manufacturer unveiled an 800V electric architecture concept for the Neue Klasse, employing the sixth generation of eDrive technology. It promises 30% faster recharging and a 30% longer range than today's models - sometimes more, depending on the model.
Thinner and with 20% greater energy density, the new batteries can be integrated into a wide variety of vehicles, whatever their height. What's more, they can be used to draw current to power or recharge other devices and vehicles.
These batteries will come from five different factories around the world, including one in the USA. BMW is also planning a partnership in North America to manage end-of-life recycling. The electric motors, meanwhile, will be manufactured at the Steyr plant in Austria.
In the end, compared with the current generation, Neue Klasse models will be 10% lighter, 20% less expensive to produce, and engine energy losses will be reduced by 40%, claims BMW.
Meanwhile, in Stuttgart...
At Mercedes-Benz, the company is gearing up to launch its biggest product and technology offensive ever, with around forty all-new or redesigned models worldwide by the end of 2027, as announced on Thursday.
From now on, electric and combustion-powered vehicles will be closer together in terms of design, as Mercedes-Benz seeks to move away from the aerodynamically brilliant jelly bean shape that many people shun. Good news, though.
The spearhead, scheduled for this year, will be the new CLA we've already told you about, available on the one hand with a 100% electric powertrain, and on the other with a four-cylinder engine featuring mild hybridization and an electrified dual-clutch gearbox. At the same time, this car will inaugurate the new MB.OS operating system.
This will be followed by an electric C-Class, an electric E-Class and an electric GLC, filling gaps in the Mercedes-Benz range. The latter, which will replace the EQC we've never had in Canada, will mark “a turning point” and will be “the electric SUV our customers have been waiting for”, according to CTO Markus Schaefer.
Mercedes-Benz intends to adapt the pace of its new electric vehicle launches according to the markets and infrastructure in place, but still expects them to account for over 30% of its sales by 2027.
