THE ROAD TO DECARBONISATION WON'T BE STRAIGHT

Why India's path to automotive decarbonisation requires technological diversity as BEVs continue to spearhead the transition.

- BY SANTOSH IYER MD & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India

IT WOULD BE a glorious thing if the road to decarbonisation was a dead straight electric highway. However, the journey to net carbon neutrality demands a more nuanced approach. At Mercedes-Benz, we have charted a holistic course, where battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and internal combustion engine (ICE) both coexist, as we remain strategically focussed and tactically flexible: listening to what customers want, what they desire, and what they prioritise.

I firmly believe that while electric vehicles are the only viable solution for achieving decarbonisation, we also need to have a fluid market-based approach. We are taking necessary steps to go all-electric, but customers and market conditions will set the pace of this transformation. We want to cater to diverse customer needs, be it a superior all-electric drivetrain or a high-tech combustion engine. We call it being 'strategically focussed' and staying 'tactically flexible'—allowing customers to pick the powertrain that suits them best.

The luxury segment remains the cradle for technological innovation, offering unique opportunities for discerning customers. BEVs now account for over 8% of our annual sales, a significant scale up from 2-3% even a couple of years ago. This growing penetration also underlines that BEVS will lead the charge in the decarbonisation transformation journey, and customers should have access to all kinds of technologies that contribute to the decarbonisation goals.

Decarbonisation