Mercedes-Benz has just announced a big new plan to cut emissions. The goal is to have a carbon-neutral passenger car fleet in just 20 years.
The new plan is called Ambition2039 because the automaker plans to hit the goal by that year. A carbon-neutral new car fleet by 2039 would involve plug-ins and fully electric vehicles making up half of the company's new car sales by 2030.
Company exec Ola Källenius, current head of research and development and future chair of the board of management for Daimler, made the announcement.
"Let’s be clear what this means for us: a fundamental transformation of our company within less than three product cycles. That’s not much time when you consider that fossil fuels have dominated our business since the invention of the car by Carl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler some 130 years ago. But as a company founded by engineers, we believe technology can also help to engineer a better future," said Källenius.
Today marked the introduction of the first of a new generation of Mercedes-Benz EV models. With the introductory drive of the EQC electric crossover. By 2030, the company aims to have EVs and plug-in hybrids as more than half of sales, significantly reducing CO2 emissions. Källenius says that the company will continue to work with partners new and old to improve EV performance and reduce costs, as well as spread electrification to vans, trucks, and buses.
Källenius said that the company will continue to work on other alternative technologies, including fuel cells. It expects to put those into larger vehicles like city buses.
Mercedes-Benz is planning a new addition to their factory in Sindelfingen that will use renewable energy and be CO2 neutral. It says that all of the company's European plants will follow by 2022, giving the example of a site in Poland where it says the renewable energy used is greener and more economical. The company said that it will work with suppliers to help reduce their emissions.
Källenius compares the move to the introduction of the first cars, saying that "They (the company founders) became system architects of a new mobility without horses. Today, our task is individual mobility without emissions."
