Mercedes-Benz Invests 14 Billion Yuan in China's New Energy Vehicle Market

Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, visited China for the fourth time this year, and once again brought important news that he continues to be optimistic about China and invest in China.

A major focus of this investment is to accelerate the transition to new energy.

Mercedes-Benz said that from 2025, Mercedes-Benz will successively put into production the new pure electric long-wheelbase CLA model exclusive to China, the new long-wheelbase GLE SUV model, and the new luxury pure electric MPV based on the VAN.EA platform. Among them, the new long-wheelbase GLE SUV model will be developed by the Chinese team for the first time, and will provide China-exclusive comfort experience and advanced intelligent technology.

In addition, Mercedes-Benz will further participate in the development of high-end manufacturing, new energy vehicles, intelligent connected vehicles and related industrial chains in Beijing, Fuzhou and surrounding areas, injecting new momentum into the development of local new quality productivity and industrial clusters.

In recent years, Mercedes-Benz has continuously increased its R&D investment in China, with a total investment of 10.5 billion yuan in the past five years. In April this year, with the opening of the new building of the Shanghai R&D Center, Mercedes-Benz China R&D officially entered a new stage of "leading the global trend with Chinese innovation".

Sales data show that in the first half of this year, Mercedes-Benz's global sales were 1.168 million vehicles, a year-on-year decline of 6%. The sales of passenger cars were 959,700 vehicles, a year-on-year decline of 6%. Among them, the sales in the Chinese market were 341,500 vehicles, a year-on-year decline of 9%. In contrast, the decline in the European and North American markets was smaller, at 1% and 3% respectively.

In Mercedes-Benz's global sales, although the sales in the Chinese market declined, it still occupied more than 30% of the market share.