Daimler CEO Ola Kallenius said in an interview with CNBC about the new Mercedes-Benz EQS that he expects “intense competition” if Apple, Alibaba or Google enter the electric vehicle (EV) market.
As the EV race heats up, Apple has already been rumored to be developing its own autonomous EV, though it won’t reach the market until at least 2025-2027.
“When an industry goes through transformation, I think it’s natural that new players look at the industry that cannot take part.” Kallenius continued, “So yes, there will be intense competition. We will focus on what we do best: build the world’s most desirable cars.”
Daimler and Waymo Partnering to Make Fully Autonomous Trucks https://t.co/wEWhIbCBoo
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) October 27, 2020
Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz EQS S-Class luxury sedan was unveiled earlier this week, and the fully-electric Mercedes-EQ line is expected to unveil several more cars using the electric drivetrain in the years to come.
While pricing for the EQS hasn’t yet been announced, Kallenius shared that Daimler expects to make money from the EV as soon as it goes on sale.
Daimler’s shares have also risen over 173% year-over-year in the last 12 months, trading at 75 euros ($89) per share with a market cap of about 80 billion euros on Sunday. In contrast, Tesla’s market cap has increased substantially to $694 billion, with its shares trading at about $732 as of the time of writing.
