Breitschwerdt says that Mercedes has ‘an overall electrification strategy’

(Continued from page 1) Breitschwerdt wouldn’t say exactly how much the X-Class adventure cost Mercedes, but investment in products and the need to speed up its electrification strategy likely played a part in the enormous losses for the year, although the brand continued to sell well and recorded a seventh consecutive year of record sales, with almost 440,000 units sold worldwide.

The UK market was up 10% to 44,500 units, while sales in Europe also grew by 7%, finishing on close to 300,000. However, the largest gains came in North America, where 46,000 Mercedes commercial vehicles were sold, an increase of 18%.

“We face many challenges and had to adjust our strategy last year,” Breitschwerdt says. “[There are] more rigid emission regulations – it’s the right thing to do – and we follow and have an overall electrification strategy for our portfolio, not only offering electric vans, but customised and more comprehensive solutions to help customers meet challenges in the best way possible.

“We had, in terms of sales, our best year ever and sold 440k units, up 4%, and a very strong performance in the US and good results in Europe. The beginning of the year has been encouraging. What is happening now with the current influence of the virus certainly is not fully predictable and it is too early to say what impact it will have on the year.”

Regardless of the effect of the pandemic, curbing losses may not prove easy in a sector where competitors are increasingly looking to merge or cooperate in order to spread the enormous costs of development for both cleaner diesel engines and future powertrains. Ford and Volkswagen are exploring a cooperation agreement, and PSA has tabled a bid for Fiat-Chrysler, creating two of the largest partnerships in the automotive landscape.

Mercedes, in contrast, has very few partnerships, with its Citan currently being the only shared product. That relationship with Renault is set to continue with the new model, when both combustion engine and electric-powered versions of the van will be produced.

Nevertheless, Breitschwerdt believes the business is in a strong position: “We are in strong cooperation. We are cooperating with Mercedes-Benz passenger cars and trucks. We can use the shelf [of parts] to the full degree, and we are cooperating on an ongoing basis with Renault for the next-generation Citan. We will have to wait and see what other manufacturers announce, but I think it’s okay to state that everybody looks around, and as with passenger cars and the industry as a whole we will take from time to time decisions whether to cooperate.”