Mercedes-Benz sees a continuing role for diesel, particularly for customers who drive long distances, chairman Ola Kallenius said, pointing to investment in combustion engines alongside its expanding electric vehicle portfolio. “Diesel is still alive,” Kallenius told our sister publication Autocar Professional when asked about the technology’s future.
“For those that need a high-tech, electrified, combustion choice, don’t worry about it. We got you covered for as long as there’s meaningful demand,” he said.
The chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG was speaking ahead of the new GLC EV launch in Pune. His India visit coincided with a board visit marking 30 years of the company’s research and development operations in the country.
Diesel remains important to Mercedes’s India business
Kallenius identified Europe as the world’s largest diesel market and highlighted Mercedes-Benz’s investment in a new generation of electrified internal combustion powertrains.
“We have launched a completely new generation of electrified, high-tech ICE,” he said, adding that the engines were “prepared for the EU7 emission standard”.
He defended diesel’s relevance for customers with substantial annual running, without setting a deadline for its withdrawal or announcing a separate India-specific engine programme.
Diesel remains important to Mercedes-Benz’s Indian business, especially in SUVs. As previously reported by Autocar Professional, the company’s electric portfolio expansion will run alongside continued petrol and diesel availability, with combustion vehicles continuing to anchor sales volumes.
Mercedes-Benz is undertaking a programme of 40 models over three years, covering electric and combustion vehicles. Kallenius said zero-emission mobility remained the long-term destination, but the transition would vary across the roughly 150 markets in which the company sells vehicles.
“From our point of view, there’s no question that the destination is zero emission. But it’s not a straight line,” he said. Those differences would also exist within individual countries. “Not every single part of India is going to have the same speed in terms of electrification,” he added.
Role of Indian engineers in R&D
The continued development of combustion powertrains includes improving their refinement in everyday driving.
During his visit to Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India, or MBRDI, Kallenius met a team refining the engine’s automatic stop-start function. The work focused on making engine shutdowns and restarts at traffic lights smoother and less noticeable to occupants.
The assignment illustrates India’s involvement in engineering Mercedes-Benz vehicles for global markets. Kallenius said MBRDI’s capabilities span powertrain development, mechanical engineering, electrical systems and software, with its teams integrated into the company’s worldwide development organisation.
“It may sound like a simple exercise, but there’s a difference between the Mercedes way, where it just feels right, and what maybe other people do,” he said.
With inputs from Ketan Thakkar