Emission-free mobility – this is our vision and the basis of our commitment to climate protection and air quality. It is also a core element of our sustainable business strategy. Our aim here is for our new vehicle fleet to become CO2-neutral by 2039 and to no longer have any relevant impact on air quality in inner cities. We address climate protection using a holistic approach, as our objectives relate to all stages of automotive value creation – from the supply chain to production, the vehicle use phase, and vehicle disposal and recycling.
Our targets
CO2-neutral vehicles*
by 2039
CO2-neutral production**
from 2022
Share of passenger car sales accounted for by plug-in hybrids or all-electric vehicles in 2030
> 50%
Reduction of the CO2 emissions of the new passenger car fleet by 2030***
> 40%
* New passenger cars throughout the entire vehicle life cycle worldwide, new trucks and buses in driving operation in key regions (triad markets of Europe, Japan, and NAFTA)
** All production facilities in Europe
*** As compared to 2018, in the use phase (well-to-wheel), Science Based Targets Initiative target for Scope 3
CO2 neutrality at Mercedes-Benz Cars: We are flipping the switch
We plan to fundamentally transform our product portfolio over the next two decades. Our approach to achieving emission-free mobility involves electric vehicles powered by battery-electric and fuel cell drive systems, further improvements to efficiency through hybridization, and the further development of our vehicles with modern combustion engines.
As we work to achieve our long-term goal of climate neutrality, we are focusing on both the systematic electrification of our product portfolio and on our supply chain: A portion of the battery cells used in the next generation of vehicles produced by our EQ product and technology brand will already be manufactured using electricity obtained exclusively from renewable sources.
Markus Schäfer Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG
Group Research & Mercedes-Benz Cars
Chief Operating Officer
Daimler Trucks & Buses: Making CO2-neutral transport a reality
As one of the world’s leading manufacturers of commercial vehicles, we have made a firm commitment to electric mobility in heavy-duty trucks. With our electric city buses and comprehensive “eBus” consulting services, we are already making a major contribution to locally emission-free public transport and the improvement of air quality in cities.
Our ultimate goal is to achieve CO2-neutral transport on the road by 2050. Along with battery-electric drives, we are also focusing on fuel cells, as the two technologies ideally complement each other. In order to achieve our goal, competitive conditions for CO2-neutral transport must be established for our customers in terms of costs and infrastructure.
Martin Daum Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG
Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler Truck AG
Climate-neutral production
We aim to achieve CO2-neutral production. Production at our Daimler plants in Europe will be CO2-neutral as of 2022, when 100 percent of purchased electricity will come from renewable sources such as wind and hydroelectric power facilities. The rest will be generated by photovoltaic systems on the roofs of our production halls, or in our own highly efficient natural gas-fired combined heat and power (CHP) plants. From 2022 on, we will utilize suitable compensation projects to offset the resulting CO2 emissions, as well as other CO2 emissions produced by the use of fossil fuels. In order to continue lowering the remaining CO2 emissions beyond the reductions from the compensation projects, we are aiming to achieve an absolute reduction of 50 percent of CO2 emissions relative to 2018 in Mercedes-Benz Cars & Vans production operations worldwide by 2030.
We have been successful on our path, as already this year we were able to achieve our long-term reduction targets for the period from 1992/1994 to 2020.
2022
CO2-neutral production in Europe
Working together to protect the climate
Our holistic approach to climate protection also involves including our suppliers, as we plan to implement effective climate protection measures in cooperation with our partners in the supply chain. It all starts with transparency. To this end, we are working with organizations such as CDP to assess the environmental impact of our passenger car supply chain. We are cooperating closely with our most CO2-intensive suppliers to also identify effective CO2 reduction measures in this area. Our goal at Mercedes-Benz Cars is to establish CO2 targets as a key criterion for selecting suppliers and concluding supplier agreements.
-50
%
absolute CO2 emissions reductions from production operations by 2030
Our commitment to climate protection: scientifically verified
Mercedes-Benz Cars & Vans had its climate protection targets scientifically verified by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTI) in 2019. This makes it clear that our targets are aligned with the Paris Agreement and the latest findings of the scientific community.
Our SBTI-verified targets:
Improving air quality
In addition to climate protection, the improvement of inner-city air quality plays an important role for us. Our objective here is to ensure that, beginning in 2025, our new fleet of cars will no longer have a significant impact on NO2 pollution in urban areas. We are also increasing transparency with regard to particulate emissions and are working to further reduce such emissions.
For this reason, Mercedes-Benz has systematically adapted its product portfolio to a new generation of diesel engines over the last few years and has invested approximately €3 billion in development and production for this purpose. Vehicles equipped with the new engines also display low NOX emissions in real driving operation: On many journeys using the Real Driving Emissions (RDE) measuring process, they actually record values significantly lower than the current laboratory threshold limit of 80 milligrams per kilometer. Vehicles equipped with the latest generation of diesel engines achieve average NOX values of around 20 to 30 milligrams per kilometer in long-term operation over many thousands of kilometers under RDE conditions.
We are also striving to improve air quality at our plants and surrounding areas, and we aim to achieve best-in-class status with regard to production-related VOC (volatile organic compound) emissions.
Our future is electric
We are developing electric model variants of all our vehicle models – from passenger cars and vans to trucks and buses. Thanks to our modular development approach, we are able to transfer technologies between our divisions quickly. Our development focus is battery-electric mobility. However, it is also important that we remain open to other technologies and pursue other solutions, such as those involving fuel cell drives or the use of so-called e-fuels.
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Cars
EQC
The all-electric Mercedes-Benz EQC1 is the first model from our new EQ series. We delivered the first EQCs to customers in 2019. The intelligent operating strategy utilized for the ECQ enables an electric range (acc. to NEDC) from 429-454 km6.
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Cars
GLC F-CELL
The GLC F-CELL2 combines innovative fuel-cell and battery technologies for the first time: Apart from electricity, it also runs on pure hydrogen. GLC F-Cell models are currently being used by the Hamburg police department and the Premier of the German state of Baden-Württemberg, Winfried Kretschmann, for example.
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Cars
Plug-in hybrid family
Under the label EQ Power, we are consistently forging ahead with the development of our plug-in hybrid vehicles. Between now and 2020, we plan to expand our range of plug-in hybrid variants to well over 20 models.
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Vans
eVito
The all-electric eVito has been available since the end of 2018. The eVito comes in two versions – as a panel van for goods transport3 and as a tourer model with up to nine seats for transporting passengers4.
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Vans
EQV
The EQV5, which was unveiled in 2019, is one of the world’s first purely battery-electric full-size MPVs in the premium segment. The technical highlights include a range of 417 km6 (provisional figures) and rapid charging.
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Trucks
eActros
We presented the first electric Mercedes-Benz truck already in 2016. With a range of 200 km, the eActros is ideal for use in urban traffic, where it can also help to lower exhaust gas and noise emissions. Series production of an upgraded version of the electric truck is scheduled to begin in 2021.
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Buses
eCitaro
The all-electric Mercedes-Benz eCitaro offers cities and transport companies the possibility of converting their fleets to locally emission-free operation. The bus has a range of around 170 kilometers in typical city driving conditions without the need for recharging during operation.
1 EQC 400 4MATIC: Electric power consumption (combined, acc. to NEDC): 21.3-20.2 kWh/100 km; combined CO2 emissions: 0 g/km; see appendix: labeling
2 GLC F-Cell: Weighted hydrogen consumption: 0.91 kg/100 km; combined CO2 emissions: 0 g/km; combined power consumption: 18.0 kWh/100 km, see appendix: labeling
3 eVito Panel Van: Combined power consumption: 24.9-20.5 kWh/100 km; combined CO2 emissions: 0 g/km, see appendix: labeling
4 eVito Tourer: Combined power consumption: 26.2 kWh/100 km; combined CO2 emissions: 0 g/km, see appendix: labeling
5 EQV 300: Combined power consumption: 26.4-26.3 kWh/100 km; combined CO2 emissions: 0 g/km, see appendix: labeling
6 The actual range is furthermore dependent upon the individual driving style, the road and traffic conditions, outside temperature, use of climate control/heating system, etc. and may differ accordingly.
Our new plants: Digital, flexible, environmentally friendly production
Battery plant in Kamenz
With its battery plant in Kamenz, Germany, Daimler now has one of the biggest and most modern automotive battery production facilities in the world. Series production of batteries for cars and commercial vehicles was launched in Kamenz in 2019. The new battery plant is designed as a CO2-neutral facility. Here, energy is supplied to the production units by a geothermal energy system in conjunction with a combined heat and power plant and a photovoltaic system. Daimler is also building new battery plants in the United States and other European countries.
“Factory 56” in Sindelfingen
Our “Factory 56” is now being built at the Mercedes-Benz Sindelfingen plant in Germany. “Factory 56” will be one of the most modern automobile production systems in the world – and will use CO2-neutral energy as soon as it is commissioned. A photovoltaic system installed on the roof will generate green electricity for the manufacturing hall below. Numerous measures to reduce energy consumption will also be implemented at the facility, and approximately 40 percent of the roof’s surface will be turned into a green roof.
Further details of our Factory 56
Easy charging – all over Europe
We are making it possible for our customers to take advantage of user-friendly electric mobility services, and we are also participating in the expansion of the battery-charging infrastructure. Mercedes me Charge, for example, offers drivers of Mercedes-Benz EQC1 and plug-in hybrid models equipped with the latest generation of the MBUX (Mercedes-Benz User Experience) infotainment system a special option that gives them access to one of the world’s largest charging networks, with more than 300 different operators of public charging stations in Europe alone (in cities, in parking lots, on highways, and in shopping centers).
Mercedes me Charge also allows customers to access the fast-charging stations operated by the pan-European IONITY network. The network’s short charging times make for a pleasant journey, especially over long distances. IONITY plans to build and operate around 400 fast-charging stations along the main traffic arteries in Europe by 2020.
The IONITY charging network is set to operate with 100 percent renewable energy in 24 European countries by the end of 2020. IONITY was established in November 2017 as a joint venture between the BMW Group, Mercedes-Benz AG, Ford Motor Company, and the Volkswagen Group (with Audi and Porsche).
Further details on charging on the go
New sustainability partnership
In September 2019, Mercedes-Benz established a sustainability partnership with Farasis Energy (Ganzhou) Co., Ltd., a Chinese company that develops and manufactures lithium-ion battery technologies. Among other things, the partnership involves the procurement of battery cells manufactured in CO2-neutral production systems. To this end, Farasis Energy utilizes electricity from renewable sources such as hydro, wind, and solar energy.
Our cooperation with Farasis Energy
OUTLOOK
The progress we make in achieving our strategic climate targets is continually monitored and reviewed using our central sustainability management. This approach is designed to ensure that we achieve our self-defined targets within the stipulated time frame.
How we are managing the Group sustainably