Daimler delays launch of electric cars – report
Daimler’s ambitious e-mobility plans are in trouble, according to the business daily Handelsblatt. The maker of Mercedes cars has postponed the launch of its electric sub-brand “EQ” citing technical problems and battery-related bottlenecks, write Markus Fasse, Franz Hubik, and Martin Murphy in an unsourced three-page report. Sales of the “EQC” SUV model will not start before June 2019, a few months later than planned. The electrification of Mercedes’ top-of-the-range “S Class” will also take longer than expected, according to the report. However, the carmaker newswire that the planned launches were on schedule.
Spiegel magazine 1 June that German transport minister Andreas Scheuer has threatened to fine Daimler 3.75 billion euros over the diesel emissions scandal after a regulator found illegal software in one of its models.
Find the article in German , and the Reuters articles in English and .
For background, read the factsheet Reluctant Daimler plans “radical” push into new mobility world and the dossier BMW, Daimler, and VW vow to fight in green transport revolution.