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"The cost structure of the electric car is
above that of the combustion engine car. We are working hard on
lowering this," Kaellenius, who is due to take over from Dieter
Zetsche after the company's annual general meeting on May 22,
said.
"We need to work on the cost of vehicle architectures. From
where we are now, we need to make a significant step by 2025 in
terms of cost," Kaellenius said, declining to provide specific
figures.
The 49-year-old CEO designate said he would continue to rely on
alliances to drive down development and procurement costs for
Mercedes-Benz.
"The intensity of cooperations will increase. The alliances will
be not only with other carmakers and suppliers, but also with
technology companies," Kaellenius said.
Daimler has struck alliances with Renault, Nissan and BMW to
share development and procurement costs of trucks, buses and
passenger cars.
Daimler is also relying on increasing economies of scale for
electric car batteries as a way to drive down costs. It is also
working to cut the use of expensive raw materials from electric
car batteries. The carmaker wants to reduce the use of cobalt in
electric car batteries.
On Saturday Reuters reported that Daimler's Chinese joint
venture partner BAIC was seeking to buy a stake of between 4% to
5%.
Upon being asked whether he would welcome BAIC as a shareholder,
Kaellenius said: "We welcome investors who see the future of
mobility in Daimler and are invested for the long run."
Daimler plans to have a passenger car fleet composed of 50%
electric and hybrid cars by 2030 and wants to have carbon
neutral production by 2022, the carmaker said.
(Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Michelle Martin)
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