Mercedes-Benz continues to increase production and sales of electric vehicles, and in the second quarter of the year, Mercedes-EQ sales almost doubled to 23,500 units (+90%) and deliveries of xEV models (PHEVs and BEVs including smart) reached 65,400 units (+2%).
According to the company, during the first half of 2022, sales of battery electric vehicles (BEV) increased 134% to 45,400 units as volume models like the EQE started rolling off the production line. xEV deliveries reached 139,600 worldwide (+14%) during the same period.
Britta Seeger, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG responsible for Marketing and Sales for Mercedes-Benz Cars, said: “The electric ramp up is gaining momentum: sales of our all-electric vehicles have increased by more than 90% in the second quarter and up 134% in the first half of 2022. It shows that we deliver attractive electric vehicles that our customers want.”
Meanwhile, in a related development, Mercedes-Benz and Chinese company Tencent will establish a joint laboratory to accelerate the development of the German automaker’s autonomous driving technology.
A joint laboratory for autonomous driving
Mercedes-Benz Group, through its subsidiary Daimler Greater China, has signed an agreement with Tencent Cloud Computing Beijing to use cloud computing, big data and artificial intelligence technologies and accelerate the simulation, testing and application of autonomous driving technology. from Mercedes-Benz.
A joint laboratory for autonomous driving will be established in China to accelerate Mercedes-Benz’s research and development in autonomous driving.
The Doctor. Hans Georg Engel, Senior Executive Vice President of Mercedes-Benz China, was quoted as saying: “Mercedes-Benz is the first automobile company in the world to meet stringent legal requirements for the L3 automated steering system. In China, we are intensively developing and testing current and next-generation automated driving systems. To succeed in this field, an in-depth view of complex local traffic and market demand is very important.”
Mercedes-Benz and Nvidia already have an understanding to develop autonomous driving technology in China. The new partnership with Tencent will strengthen this. Tencent will also provide its expertise in the field of car network security to support Mercedes-Benz’s automated driving research and development in China.