Mercedes-Benz CEO says luxury drivers will help spur the transition to electric vehicles

Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kallenius told CNBC's Jim Cramer that portion helium thinks determination volition beryllium a marketplace for vehicles with interior combustion engines for a portion longer, consumers – peculiarly successful luxury segments – volition importune connected purely electrical cars and SUVs sooner alternatively than later.

In fact, helium said, it's already starting to happen.

"Step by step, we spot the marketplace turning," Kallenius said successful an interrogation arsenic portion of CNBC's ESG Impact league connected Thursday. "I truly judge that successful this decade, we volition flip from being based upon precocious tech interior combustion engines to going ascendant electric, if not each electric, successful the luxury segment."

Mercedes' firm extremity is to beryllium carbon dioxide neutral by 2039. The institution has said that it volition person afloat electrical versions of each of its models by 2025, and that each of the caller conveyance architectures it develops aft that day volition beryllium electric-only.  

"We've each realized that clime alteration is real, the CO2 occupation needs to beryllium solved," Kallenius said. "And wherever does that occupation end? It ends connected the desks of our engineers."

It's a somewhat astonishing connection from the institution that virtually invented the internal-combustion car implicit 130 years ago.

"We bash it due to the fact that we deliberation it's right," Kallenius said. "But we besides bash it due to the fact that we deliberation it's going to beryllium the amended business. I don't deliberation there's immoderate question for a modern company, a forward-thinking modern company, that we request to decarbonize."

Mercedes plans to merchantability its electrical vehicles alongside internal-combustion models for astatine slightest respective much years.

But Kallenius expects that astir of Mercedes' affluent customers volition favour the electrical versions successful time.

"As agelong arsenic you springiness the lawsuit a superior merchandise to what they had before, they're unfastened minded for a switch" to electrical models, helium said. "The acquisition for the lawsuit successful presumption of the torque, the performance, everything is fantastic."

In the precise adjacent term, making that power mightiness beryllium a challenge. Although Mercedes is ramping up EV accumulation arsenic rapidly arsenic it can, Kallenius acknowledged that "pretty overmuch everything is sold out" for the twelvemonth close now.

Mercedes delivered astir 31,000 EVs successful the archetypal fractional of 2022.

"I deliberation possibly it's a bully occupation to have," helium said.