A-Class Sedan

Segment
Sedan

Most auto manufacturers are stepping up their efforts to move away from the traditional internal combustion engine, especially since countries such as the UK have announced that they would be going fully electric by 2030. Daimler, parent company of Mercedes-Benz, has been in contact with other manufacturers to work on hybrid and all-electric powerplants. And now the time has come for it to work with Chinese manufacturer Geely, who owns a ten percent stake in the German company, to develop of a new range of "highly efficient modular engines." This comes after the introduction of some highly efficient four-cylinder engines were introduced for the A-Class, CLA, and GLB.

Sharing development costs will help combat the dwindling growth potential of the internal combustion engine, the continuing threat of the global pandemic, as well as stricter rules on emissions and fuel efficiency currently being rolled out across Europe. "The companies plan to develop a highly efficient modular engine," a spokesman for Daimler said, adding that it would be used in hybrid drivetrains and manufactured in Europe and China.

As the two companies are still negotiating and planning which steps to take next, little information is available as to precisely what the two will be working on, but what is clear is that it will be a modular powerplant that will be shared under different brands.

The news came as a surprise to some. Daimler's works council, based in Untertuerkheim which specialized in the development and construction of electric and hybrid engines said that "We are speechless. There was not even a discussion about potential alternative manufacturing locations. We have the ability to build four-cylinder engines in Untertuerkheim, but there were no talks about it."

German news sources have reported that the majority of the next-generation internal combustion engines will be built in China, while German factories were being retooled for EV production. The deal will reportedly save Daimler anywhere from 100 million Euros ($119 million). Business is business as they say.