Hot! Mercedes-Benz, What's Next?

[Design FIRST]

The question is what’s the plan, what do they want to be.

I agree. I fail to see any sort of adherence to a cohesive, sustainable plan. Especially perrtaining to M-B and VAG's European operations. That being said, VAG is doing some very interesting things with various Chinese partners and M-B AMG's focus on axial flux e-motors and innovative battery tech looks promising. And innovartion regarding the introduction of the traditional alluring visceral elements of driving such as sound, vibration, etc, in BEVs/REEVs may also win over some of the hearts of more digital affine car fans.

If they want to produce sporty EVs in huge numbers they need to lower the price, to be competitive with the Chinese.

Yes-German manufacturers stand accused of exploitative cash grabbing and this, by way of Chinese manufacturers, is biting them in the ass bigtime.

Luxury EVs are especially in China way cheaper than traditional luxury cars.

A segment in which we may soon see a shift from the current "China only" marketing strategies of, for example, VAG. There has been a bit of innuendo that a possible Audi A8 successor will now be developed by SAIC AUDI. And judging by the very production-near Volkswagen ID.ERA large SUV REEV concept, jointly developed with SAIC Volkswagen, this vehicle could generate a lot of interest in the EU as well as North America.

Or are they going on the small but luxury ICE Sportscars road.

As far as genuine smaller sportcars go, ICE powertrains are certainly legitimate for small volume manufacturers and cottage fabricators IMHO.

My personal opinion, the EU is currently very successful destroying their car industry with their stupid EV mandates. Congratulations.

Oh, the Eurocrats as well as some administrations of various EU member states are so woefully inept , dilettantic and untrustworthy on this subject that it is actually physically painful at times.

 

[TATE]

As things currently stand, it appears that BMW AG is doing the best job of navigating the extremely treacherous currents that are haunting Germany's automotive industry.

As for M-B, the future remains difficult to predict. Should the new MB.EA generation vehicles attract nothing more than a lame response by consumers, the chances of a most significant upheaval of management and corporate structures would seem inevitable. Will this future equate to a restoration of genuine substance reflected in it's products ? Will this future leave M-B staring at a rearview mirror, something that Porsche AG appears to be doing, rather than moving boldly forwards in a rapidly transforming industry ?

We shall see.

Don’t be so negative
BMW is going to have a very hard future as well

 

[Design FIRST]

Nowadays I think they expanded too much and lost that exclusive lure they once had. In my opinion they have too many products/model lines. If they want to move forward they need to integrate some of them (like Taycan and Panamera) into a combined ICE/EV platform and also the other models like Macan, Cayenne, Boxster, Cayman and then eventually 911.

I fully agree with your point regarding the integration of the Taycan and Panamera. With a highly modular architecture that can accomodate electric, range-extended electric and ICE Hybrid powertrains.

As for the anticipated "K1" large crossover: That has apparently been placed on the backburner. Waaay back. Does Porsche really need this sort of vehicle after all ?

It has been recently reported that Porsche AG will offer the successors to the current Boxster/Cayman in BOTH BEV and ICE form, the latter being more more sports oriented and specialized. It will be interesting to see how they will execute this. Nearly identical exteriors ? Personally, I absolutely love the look of the Cayman prototypes. Is the underlying architecture far more modular than many had been led to believe ?