Markus Schäfer is in charge of development on the board of Mercedes-Benz and of day-to-day business as COO on the Daimler board. Schäfer told the German publication Handelsblatt that everyone must recognise that the transformation of the vehicle industry towards electric drives may happen much faster than previously assumed. “In any case, we are preparing for an earlier changeover,” he said. He added that “in terms of products, there is no longer any rational reason to opt for a combustion engine in the near future”. Just last month the Daimler Group announced that Daimler’s passenger car and van divisions and the truck & bus businesses are each to form a single “pure play” company. Daimler Truck AG will be spun off and listed on the stock market as an independent company. Until now, the company has set 2039 as the target for a zero-emission new car fleet.

According to German magazine Auto Motor und Sport, Daimler development chief Markus Schaefer said that they currently have no plans to develop a next-generation combustion engine and they are focusing on new electric powertrains

Another day, another automaker promising to pivot hard toward electric vehicles by around 2025. This time, it's Mercedes, which announced that "All newly launched architectures will be electric-only from 2025 onwards." What does that mean, exactly? Well, it does not mark the end of internal combustion power at Mercedes, though it does reveal its days are likely numbered.

The phrasing Mercedes uses in its announcement is key: "All newly launched architectures", and not all new vehicles, will be electric. This implies that gas- and diesel-fed cars and SUVs will still be available from Mercedes in 2025; however, after that point, all non-electric Mercedes models will not enjoy the promise of all-new platforms in the future.

So, assume Mercedes redesigned every vehicle in its lineup in 2024 and 2025 (a big if). Then that gives the brand's traditional cars and SUVs about a five-to-seven-year shelf life before needing a redesign, based on current industry practice. This timeline jibes with the three-pointed star's vague allusion to going "all electric at the end of the decade," albeit "where market conditions allow. "