Automakers are doing everything in their power to make consumers want electric vehicles: quicker charging, longer ranges, and lower prices. On the luxury and performance side, some companies have even begun incorporating simulated gears and sounds to make EVs feel more like gas cars.
Even that hasn’t won over everyone. The issue is so profound that even executives at the top of Mercedes-Benz are furious about the latest AMG GT 4-Door and its electric powertrain.
A quote from a Mercedes executive recently appeared in German Manager Magazin, as originally reported by The Autopian. The exec says that this car “shouldn’t even exist,” noting that it was “too late to stop it.”
Photo by: Mercedes-AMG
Unlike Honda, which abandoned its plans to release three electric vehicles, burning billions of dollars in lost development costs, Mercedes was too far along and had to release its vehicles. Development for AMG EVs alone has reportedly cost the German automaker over $1 billion.
That number pales in comparison to the development cost for the EQS and EQE SUV models, which were reportedly around 5 billion euros (approximately $5.7 million USD in 2026 dollars). The idea for the original EQS and other EVs was spurred on by Mercedes CEO Ola Källenius, who was reportedly chasing Tesla’s rising stock price.
According to the Manager report, the unnamed Mercedes executive says the automaker’s board knew the EQ models were a disaster following a 90 percent sales drop in 2024. “It was clear then that these cars were the biggest failures in the company’s history,” the executive told the German outlet.
Motor1’s Take: Mercedes finally seems to be digging itself out of the hole dug by the EQ-branded vehicles. The electric CLA seems like a decent EV with an affordable price tag under $50,000 and the VLE is coming to America as the first true luxury van for the market.
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