Frank Lindenberg, vice president of finance and controlling at Mercedes-Benz Cars, said the company had to be “prepared for a kind of transition” once it rolls out electric cars.
Meanwhile, Mike Ramsey, car analyst at Gartner, said that the decision to invest in StoreDot could push Daimler and other German carmakers closer towards an electric future.
“Long recharging times and a lack of infrastructure are two of the key barriers to widespread adoption of electric cars. A large battery that could be recharged in as little as 5 minute could dramatically change the efficacy of the technology,” Ramsey said.
“For Daimler – and the German car industry more broadly – making a push into electric gets them ahead of the effects of diesel slowly being pushed out of the fleet.”
Last month Daimler was one of four big German automakers to agree to retrofit millions of diesel cars.
Germany’s car manufacturing industry remains haunted by allegations of using software to cheat diesel emissions tests. Shares in country’s top three carmakers – Volkswagen, BMW and Daimler – fell sharply after reports that European Union antitrust officials were invetigating them over allegations of a “cartel”-style collusion.
Several large European industry players said they were prioritizing battery-powered electric cars over combustion engines earlier this week, at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
