Who sells the most cars and makes the most profit? For decades, the German car industry – and thus also its investors – was shaped by such numbers. Whether these cars and their production use a lot of resources, where the raw materials come from and what energy a plant is operated with: For a long time, that was not decisive, neither for the buyers nor for the financiers.
Now several crises are coming together that are causing car manufacturers to change course: the lack of semiconductors, the consequences of the corona pandemic, the fight against climate change and the war in Ukraine. Driven by the capital market, the switch to sustainable, ecological management is happening faster than many would have thought possible a year or two ago. Mercedes-Benz therefore invited investors and analysts to a digital conference on Monday that only deals with these topics, summarized under ESG (Environment, Social, Governance).
Because despite all the striving for a more ecological lifestyle – they naturally want to continue selling cars in Stuttgart. Or as CEO Ola Källenius puts it: “The desire for individual mobility is growing all the time. Our task is to meet this need in a sustainable way.”
In 2039, Mercedes wants to be climate-neutral
The car manufacturer has now presented new intermediate goals for how this should succeed. Three years ago, the company had set the goal of achieving CO₂ neutrality by 2039 – a decade earlier than postulated for the economy in the Paris climate protection agreement. At its sustainability conference, Mercedes specified this path. By 2030, CO₂ emissions per new car should be reduced by at least 50 percent over the entire life cycle compared to 2020. For faster progress in climate protection, “maximum commitment and more cooperation between politics, business and society as a whole” are necessary, said Källenius.
Because one thing is clear: this project can only succeed if the electric cars are built and, above all, operated with green electricity. By 2030, Mercedes wants to cover more than 70 percent of the energy requirements in production with renewable energies. The generation of solar and wind energy at the company’s own locations is to be expanded and more green electricity is to be purchased. In the current debate about energy dependencies in the course of the Russian war in Ukraine, this project appears to be particularly far-sighted.
In addition, Mercedes is focusing on using even more recycling materials, but also on advances in battery technology. The manufacturer is already testing all of this in a test vehicle called EQXX. With a battery that is half the size and a third lighter than that in the EQS electric luxury sedan, it should be able to cover around 1000 kilometers at a time. “Efficiency is the key,” said Head of Development Markus Schäfer.
The group wants to use batteries without cobalt
In one point, the Swabians are following the path that Tesla has already taken: Mercedes also wants to use batteries in the future that do not require cobalt – a raw material that is repeatedly criticized because of the mining conditions. Because sustainability doesn’t just begin where the individual parts are assembled into a vehicle in a workshop. Mercedes has therefore identified “24 raw materials with increased risk” along the entire supply chain, which the company wants to take a closer look at in terms of extraction and processing.
By 2030, Mercedes wants to be able to only build fully electric vehicles – with the restriction that the respective markets also allow it. Even though the manufacturer has only just announced that it has tripled sales of electric cars in the first quarter compared to the previous year: last year the proportion of battery-only vehicles sold was just 4.1 percent.