In an interview with auto motor und sport magazine, Markus Schafer, COO Mercedes-Benz cars and head of development at Daimler, said the new Euro 7 standards must be technically feasible.
Asked what he thinks about the strictness of the new Euro 7 norms, Markus Schafer said: “First of all, it is not clear what the specific requirements of the new Euro 7 norms will be”.
“Currently there are only some ideas for proposals and not a technical advisory commission. We expect a first proposal to come from the EU Commission this year. But first, the proposals must be technically feasible.
On the other hand, we need to weigh whether the effort to reach the new emission limits is relevant to the environment or whether investments should be directed to the electromobility.”
Mercedes announced that it will reduce investments in the thermal engine by 80% between 2019 and 2026. What consequences will this decision have?
Markus Schafer: Investments in the engine portfolio are largely made. The development of the new generation of 4-cylinder engines continues together with our partner Geely and we are also investing in adapting to Euro 7 standards.
Subsequently, there will be expenses only in terms of adapting the different engine versions to the new rules.
Mercedes want to eliminate half of all internal combustion engines by 2025. Asked how can be done, Markus Schafer said: “Mercedes currently has many variants of 4 and 6 cylinder engines. Our goal was to have a modular family of 4 and 6 cylinder engines that we have and now we are sorting the variants that we can adapt for the new Euro 7 norms.”
Electric cars are still more expensive than those with an internal combustion engine. Asked when he thought electric cars would no longer need state subsidies, Markus Schafer was very clear and said:
“A look at the costs of electric and conventional propulsion shows that the price difference will be maintained in the coming years even after the introduction of Euro 7 norms. And the evolution will depend in the future on the cost of raw materials for batteries.”
