1
00:00:02,520 --> 00:00:07,040
Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio News.

2
00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:12,080
Speaker 2: I'm Hannah Elliott and I'm Matt Miller, and this is

3
00:00:12,119 --> 00:00:13,200
Speaker 2: Hot Pursuit.

4
00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:17,639
Speaker 3: Coming up on the show.

5
00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:21,439
Speaker 2: We speak with Mercedes CEO Ola Collenius.

6
00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:23,759
Speaker 1: This is a really big deal that Ola came to

7
00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:28,120
Speaker 1: talk with us. Matt and I am very excited about

8
00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:31,840
Speaker 1: what he chose to share with us. A world exclusive

9
00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:33,360
Speaker 1: on Hot Pursuit.

10
00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:35,800
Speaker 4: The last time we had it, I think the last

11
00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:40,040
Speaker 4: series was in twenty thirteen. You could buy it. We

12
00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:43,960
Speaker 4: had a final edition. If you had bought one of those,

13
00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:48,040
Speaker 4: and I know that Bloomberg viewers are savvy business people,

14
00:00:48,159 --> 00:00:50,479
Speaker 4: you would have gotten it a little bit north of

15
00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:52,600
Speaker 4: one hundred thousand dollars. If you want to buy one

16
00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:56,760
Speaker 4: now used one, albeit you probably have to pay between

17
00:00:56,800 --> 00:01:00,360
Speaker 4: four and five hundred thousand. So you see the icon status.

18
00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:01,920
Speaker 3: That is coming up on the show.

19
00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:06,440
Speaker 2: But first I want to talk about a competitor to

20
00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:10,320
Speaker 2: that g Wagon. I've been driving the land Rover Defender

21
00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:14,520
Speaker 2: Octa for the last week and Hannah, I'm sure you

22
00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:17,200
Speaker 2: know this is the V eight version and it is

23
00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:21,240
Speaker 2: essentially a BMWV eight to twin turbo four point four

24
00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:25,640
Speaker 2: leader powertrain that they use in the range Rover and

25
00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:29,240
Speaker 2: have been for a few years. Otherwise you can't get

26
00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:32,000
Speaker 2: a V eight in the Defender anymore. They did have

27
00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:38,759
Speaker 2: the beloved supercharged five liter powertrain in that previously.

28
00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:40,959
Speaker 3: Now this is your only choice for a.

29
00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:44,680
Speaker 2: V eight and it's a stunning vehicle. I think from

30
00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:49,720
Speaker 2: the exterior they've executed it really well. Mine came in

31
00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:53,440
Speaker 2: this really cool dark green, almost black.

32
00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:55,000
Speaker 3: Color.

33
00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:58,880
Speaker 2: But the price is so high for such a spartan vehicle.

34
00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:01,800
Speaker 2: You know, the Defender on the interior is pretty spartan.

35
00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:04,600
Speaker 2: They've made it nice with leather and stuff. But one

36
00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:08,880
Speaker 2: hundred and fifty three thousand and change, I think is

37
00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:12,560
Speaker 2: the starting price before you add any options, which makes it,

38
00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:17,520
Speaker 2: you know, sixty percent more expensive than a Bronco raptor,

39
00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:22,239
Speaker 2: fifty percent more expensive than a Geep Wrangler three ninety two,

40
00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:27,520
Speaker 2: and even more expensive than the base Mercedes G Wagon,

41
00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:31,560
Speaker 2: which I think is a huge, a huge ask, right

42
00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:33,840
Speaker 2: because it's just I mean, it's special, but is it

43
00:02:33,919 --> 00:02:35,960
Speaker 2: as special as a G Class.

44
00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:39,280
Speaker 1: Well, here's my question to you. For that price, if

45
00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:42,360
Speaker 1: I saw the Octa on the street, would I know

46
00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:44,600
Speaker 1: it's the special one or not?

47
00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:45,800
Speaker 3: No?

48
00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:50,440
Speaker 2: No, I don't think unless you are a Landrover Defender

49
00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:55,440
Speaker 2: fanatic or you know. I mean, you might know it's

50
00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:57,600
Speaker 2: the Octa, and I might know it's the Octa, but

51
00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:01,520
Speaker 2: no one else would know. And honestly, you can get

52
00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:07,640
Speaker 2: really cool color ways in the other models. So yeah,

53
00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:11,919
Speaker 2: I don't think it sounds particularly good. You know, it's

54
00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:15,720
Speaker 2: it's not a big displacement vaid.

55
00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:20,080
Speaker 3: It almost sounds like an inline six motor.

56
00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:22,280
Speaker 2: Maybe that's just the fact that I know it's got

57
00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:25,080
Speaker 2: BMW heritage, but you wouldn't know.

58
00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:25,320
Speaker 3: No.

59
00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:29,400
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean it's interesting because you think my thought

60
00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:35,480
Speaker 1: process is okay, like Defenders wore Ranch vehicles forever, So

61
00:03:35,960 --> 00:03:38,560
Speaker 1: does it seem weird that one is that expensive? Yes,

62
00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:41,520
Speaker 1: But then you got to say, well, the G class

63
00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:44,600
Speaker 1: was a military vehicle, is it? You know, is it

64
00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:46,680
Speaker 1: fair to hold the land Rover to a different standard.

65
00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:47,560
Speaker 4: I don't know.

66
00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:51,280
Speaker 1: Somehow, the land Rovers feels like it should be a

67
00:03:51,280 --> 00:03:54,360
Speaker 1: little bit more attainable to me somehow.

68
00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:55,320
Speaker 3: Yeah.

69
00:03:55,360 --> 00:03:59,880
Speaker 2: And the weird thing is this price is higher than

70
00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:03,160
Speaker 2: the price you would pay for a range Rover with

71
00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:08,000
Speaker 2: the same power train. So okay, it's got bigger turbo chargers,

72
00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:10,520
Speaker 2: it has over six hundred horse power. They've beefed it

73
00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:13,360
Speaker 2: up a little bit, but you can get the range Rover,

74
00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:16,880
Speaker 2: which is, you know, a step up from the Defender.

75
00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:20,679
Speaker 2: It's certainly in terms of luxury for like one hundred

76
00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:23,640
Speaker 2: and thirty five with a four point four leter twin

77
00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:28,400
Speaker 2: turbo V eight. So I don't know how many sales

78
00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:29,240
Speaker 2: they're going to make of this.

79
00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:32,360
Speaker 1: Yeah, it'll be interesting. There's also a part of me

80
00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:35,320
Speaker 1: that's like, well, what about just a Ford Bronco. If

81
00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:39,920
Speaker 1: you're going in that direction and you want something kind

82
00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:43,000
Speaker 1: of retro but the new version of it, you could

83
00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:45,599
Speaker 1: just get a Ford Bronco, right call it even.

84
00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:48,760
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, no, absolutely, I mean that's probably what I

85
00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:51,640
Speaker 2: would do. I love the way the Bronco looks. I

86
00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:55,360
Speaker 2: frankly I prefer it to the Defender. It's not quite

87
00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:58,200
Speaker 2: as big the Bronco. And then the one issue that

88
00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:01,000
Speaker 2: will be important to a lot of well healed buyers

89
00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:05,000
Speaker 2: is the NVH issue that I that I will speak

90
00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:07,080
Speaker 2: about and just a little bit with Olacholenius. The CEO

91
00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:10,719
Speaker 2: Mercedes like the Bronco, no matter what you do to it,

92
00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:17,360
Speaker 2: it's loud, it vibrates a lot, it's pretty harsh in

93
00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:20,440
Speaker 2: terms of like getting in and out and living with.

94
00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:21,360
Speaker 3: It on a daily basis.

95
00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:23,360
Speaker 2: Like, it's great, that's what you want with that kind

96
00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:27,120
Speaker 2: of vehicle for a lot of people. But this Defender,

97
00:05:27,320 --> 00:05:30,440
Speaker 2: much like the G Class, is very vault like on

98
00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:34,600
Speaker 2: the inside. When you get in there, you're completely protected

99
00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:41,159
Speaker 2: from everything outside and you know you don't hear everything outside.

100
00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:44,719
Speaker 2: It doesn't rattle or shake too much, so at least

101
00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:48,960
Speaker 2: it's got the noise, vibration, and harshness under control in

102
00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:51,040
Speaker 2: terms of what you would expect from a luxury vehicle.

103
00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:55,120
Speaker 1: Well, that's that's good to hear. Yeah, I can't wait

104
00:05:55,160 --> 00:05:56,960
Speaker 1: to drive it. I think I might have that coming

105
00:05:57,040 --> 00:06:00,000
Speaker 1: up in my in my roster. I hope I can

106
00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:02,640
Speaker 1: drive it and compare it and see if I agree

107
00:06:02,640 --> 00:06:02,800
Speaker 1: with you.

108
00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:05,360
Speaker 2: Matt, all right, that's coming up. Well, your drive will

109
00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:09,720
Speaker 2: come up on a future program. Yeah, and the Mercedes

110
00:06:10,279 --> 00:06:13,520
Speaker 2: Interview CEO of Mercedes is coming up on this program.

111
00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:16,200
Speaker 2: You're listening to Hot Pursuit from Bloomberg Radio. I'm Matt

112
00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:18,680
Speaker 2: Miller along with Hannah Elliott. You've got more on the

113
00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:31,400
Speaker 2: way after this. Now, let's talk about concept cars. Audi

114
00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:35,520
Speaker 2: just rolled out a new one and Hannah, you were.

115
00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:38,839
Speaker 1: There, Yes, I was there and I'm still here actually

116
00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:43,200
Speaker 1: in Milan the early part of this week. AUDI had

117
00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:46,600
Speaker 1: a big media event last night at a hotel owned

118
00:06:46,600 --> 00:06:50,800
Speaker 1: by the Ferragama family incidentally or created by them. Actually

119
00:06:50,839 --> 00:06:54,279
Speaker 1: I think it's owned by the Vatican anyway. AUDI debuted

120
00:06:54,320 --> 00:06:58,840
Speaker 1: the Concept See, which they are saying is basically their

121
00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:03,240
Speaker 1: complete moved Boonshot revolution that they are basing all of

122
00:07:03,279 --> 00:07:06,520
Speaker 1: their brand, imaging and all of their products on from

123
00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:10,240
Speaker 1: here going forward. The concept See is a two c

124
00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:15,320
Speaker 1: electric sports car that basically, if you can imagine a

125
00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:19,840
Speaker 1: TT and an R eight push together, you kind of

126
00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:22,760
Speaker 1: get the concept CE. Although the Concept See is longer

127
00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:26,240
Speaker 1: and wider than both of those, especially the right that's

128
00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:28,640
Speaker 1: kind of what you're looking at. It's very brutalist, it'

129
00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:33,640
Speaker 1: very it's like a monolithic block, and it's also got

130
00:07:33,640 --> 00:07:39,119
Speaker 1: a drop top. It's a target style sports car. So yeah,

131
00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:41,440
Speaker 1: it was very interesting to spend a few days with

132
00:07:41,520 --> 00:07:44,000
Speaker 1: Audi and hear about this car and hear them talk

133
00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:48,160
Speaker 1: about striving for Clarity, which is their new tagline, and

134
00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:51,840
Speaker 1: they basically were very upfront about saying, we got way

135
00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:54,960
Speaker 1: too complicated. We were trying to be all things to

136
00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:59,560
Speaker 1: all people. We were too complex for our consumers. We

137
00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:02,320
Speaker 1: tried to everything all at once, and now we are

138
00:08:02,320 --> 00:08:05,400
Speaker 1: going to pair it all back and we're doing simple

139
00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:10,280
Speaker 1: minimal in a real way. And the concept CC or

140
00:08:10,440 --> 00:08:12,760
Speaker 1: C is their attempt at that they.

141
00:08:12,680 --> 00:08:16,880
Speaker 2: Can learn from Landrover Defender because that interior is minimalist.

142
00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:18,680
Speaker 3: But actually it makes sense to me.

143
00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:23,960
Speaker 2: You know, Audi is the luxury brand of Volkswagen, and

144
00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:28,040
Speaker 2: I can see that they do their sort of froufrough

145
00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:32,719
Speaker 2: stuff with Bentley or Porsche or Lamborghini, right, they might

146
00:08:32,760 --> 00:08:36,000
Speaker 2: as well keep it simple, you know, minimalist luxury with Audi.

147
00:08:36,160 --> 00:08:37,440
Speaker 3: I feel like that tracks.

148
00:08:37,760 --> 00:08:40,720
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I would say Bentley is the luxury

149
00:08:40,720 --> 00:08:46,320
Speaker 1: brand of Volkswagen really, and you know, throwing Lamborghini. Honestly,

150
00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:49,400
Speaker 1: I think Audi has really been struggling, and they admit it.

151
00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:51,959
Speaker 1: I mean, this isn't anything new. They've struggled to even

152
00:08:52,040 --> 00:08:55,880
Speaker 1: be a choice behind Porsche obviously within their own family,

153
00:08:55,960 --> 00:08:59,599
Speaker 1: but even behind BMW and Mercedes. You know, if you

154
00:08:59,640 --> 00:09:02,559
Speaker 1: had asked me what does Audi mean? I would have

155
00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:08,200
Speaker 1: been a little unclear. It's been vague. So yeah, this,

156
00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:10,839
Speaker 1: you know, it's interesting that you bring up luxury brand

157
00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:16,760
Speaker 1: because yesterday and a round table, their chief Dolner said,

158
00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:21,720
Speaker 1: we want to be the most aspirational premium brand out there,

159
00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:25,360
Speaker 1: and he kind of admitted he knows they're not right

160
00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:29,000
Speaker 1: now and they really need to ramp up and go

161
00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:29,400
Speaker 1: for it.

162
00:09:29,559 --> 00:09:32,280
Speaker 2: I guess they're like premium economy for Volkswagen, and then

163
00:09:32,320 --> 00:09:35,880
Speaker 2: Bentley's like the full business class or first class. I

164
00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:39,080
Speaker 2: feel like, by the way, Audi, my dad had an

165
00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:42,160
Speaker 2: Auty five thousand when I was a little kid. Audi

166
00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:45,600
Speaker 2: the RS two was the first performance car that I

167
00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:48,160
Speaker 2: ever drove. I drove an RS two with a stick

168
00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:51,320
Speaker 2: in Cologne when I was like eighteen years old. And

169
00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:55,800
Speaker 2: then an Audi a four station wagon was the first

170
00:09:55,840 --> 00:09:57,680
Speaker 2: new car I ever bought with my own money, so

171
00:09:57,720 --> 00:10:02,360
Speaker 2: I have a real personal connection. Also, Audi made my

172
00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:06,319
Speaker 2: favorite concept vehicle of all time, the Audi Nannook Na

173
00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:08,719
Speaker 2: and uk.

174
00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:09,640
Speaker 1: Out that is a queer reference.

175
00:10:10,559 --> 00:10:15,520
Speaker 2: Yeah, so I mean I'm happy for them to uh

176
00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:17,360
Speaker 2: make it make somewhat of a comeback.

177
00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:20,640
Speaker 3: I thought, you know, the e Tron, the e Tron Era.

178
00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:24,920
Speaker 2: At the very beginning, I thought this is gonna take off,

179
00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:27,840
Speaker 2: and it kind of didn't. So I'm glad that they're

180
00:10:27,880 --> 00:10:28,560
Speaker 2: stepping it up.

181
00:10:28,960 --> 00:10:31,000
Speaker 1: This is a whole new era for sure. At Audi,

182
00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:35,000
Speaker 1: they have their designer Masamo for Sella. Of course it's

183
00:10:35,600 --> 00:10:40,000
Speaker 1: perfect for our our use. He was formerly a Jaguar

184
00:10:40,120 --> 00:10:43,080
Speaker 1: Landrover until last year. Last year he moved to Audi,

185
00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:46,959
Speaker 1: and obviously he didn't completely design this new concept, see

186
00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:49,760
Speaker 1: didn't have that much time. But Audi was quick to

187
00:10:49,800 --> 00:10:51,880
Speaker 1: say that he did have his hands on this vehicle.

188
00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:56,360
Speaker 1: And Massamo is obsessed with the TT like that is

189
00:10:56,800 --> 00:10:58,960
Speaker 1: his icon. I didn't hear you mentioned the TT in

190
00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:01,719
Speaker 1: your list, Matt So. That makes me think maybe it's

191
00:11:01,760 --> 00:11:08,079
Speaker 1: too small for us, but you know, yeah, yeah, I

192
00:11:08,480 --> 00:11:12,800
Speaker 1: never honestly, I never liked the TT. It felt too small,

193
00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:18,000
Speaker 1: but Massimo loved it. And it's interesting that we've been

194
00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:20,680
Speaker 1: talking about land Rovers because he was at Landrover for

195
00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:24,200
Speaker 1: many years. Now he's at Audi, and he he thinks

196
00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:27,680
Speaker 1: Audi has icons too, just like you're saying, Matt So.

197
00:11:27,800 --> 00:11:30,520
Speaker 1: And of course the Auto Union cars from the thirties,

198
00:11:30,600 --> 00:11:34,280
Speaker 1: like those old race cars really were exceptional and I

199
00:11:34,280 --> 00:11:37,320
Speaker 1: think Audi's trying to retain some of that glamour as well.

200
00:11:37,640 --> 00:11:40,600
Speaker 2: Yeah, in the Class B quattro as well. All right,

201
00:11:40,760 --> 00:11:43,640
Speaker 2: coming up on the show, we speak with Mercedes CEO

202
00:11:44,080 --> 00:11:47,680
Speaker 2: Ola Collenius. I'm Matt Miller along with Hannah Elliott. More

203
00:11:47,720 --> 00:11:57,560
Speaker 2: hot Pursuit after the break, we are now joined by

204
00:11:57,559 --> 00:12:01,040
Speaker 2: Ola Collenius. He's chairman of the management board and CEO

205
00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:04,520
Speaker 2: at Mercedes Benz. Ola, thank you for joining con Pursuits.

206
00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:07,480
Speaker 4: Pleasure to be with you, guys, And yes, we are

207
00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:11,280
Speaker 4: in the final preparations for this weekend and we have

208
00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:16,920
Speaker 4: of course brought some great world premieres to Munich this year.

209
00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:18,320
Speaker 3: So what are you going to show?

210
00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:22,080
Speaker 2: What's the standout debut for you at Munich this year?

211
00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:28,240
Speaker 4: The standout debut is the all new electric GLC, which

212
00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:31,080
Speaker 4: is based upon a whole new architecture that we called

213
00:12:31,160 --> 00:12:37,240
Speaker 4: Mercedes Benz Electric Architecture MBA. Considering that the GLC today

214
00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:41,360
Speaker 4: in our portfolio is our most sold model, we have

215
00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:46,800
Speaker 4: taken that extremely popular car and literally in every dimension,

216
00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:50,480
Speaker 4: taking it to the next level. So this is a

217
00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:52,559
Speaker 4: very very big world premiere for us.

218
00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:56,560
Speaker 1: So Ola, tell us how important this GLC is in

219
00:12:56,800 --> 00:12:59,960
Speaker 1: hitting some of your targets that you've talked about. Obviously

220
00:13:00,440 --> 00:13:05,000
Speaker 1: the world evis is slightly chaotic these days. How crucial

221
00:13:05,080 --> 00:13:06,640
Speaker 1: is this car for Mercedes.

222
00:13:06,920 --> 00:13:11,479
Speaker 4: It's a very important car because that segment, the compact SUVs,

223
00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:15,640
Speaker 4: that's a model that is popular everywhere in the world,

224
00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:18,760
Speaker 4: and that segment has grown for us over the years,

225
00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:23,679
Speaker 4: and indeed it is individually the most sold car from

226
00:13:23,720 --> 00:13:29,080
Speaker 4: mercedespen So when you do that, you really want to

227
00:13:29,160 --> 00:13:32,040
Speaker 4: delight Mercedes fans and customers around the world and also

228
00:13:32,120 --> 00:13:35,240
Speaker 4: surprised them a little bit. So in this particular case,

229
00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:38,080
Speaker 4: I think the engineers they looked at this as a

230
00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:44,680
Speaker 4: special challenge. And of course it's a second generation electric vehicles,

231
00:13:44,720 --> 00:13:51,400
Speaker 4: so in all powertrain dimensions, incredible on efficiency should be

232
00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:57,760
Speaker 4: around benchmarking its class with that coming, good range, incredibly

233
00:13:57,840 --> 00:14:01,800
Speaker 4: fast charging charging almost and into the same thing as fueling.

234
00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:05,880
Speaker 4: Not quite, but you can charge several hundred kilometers in

235
00:14:06,040 --> 00:14:09,600
Speaker 4: ten minutes. So all of those dimensions, and for those

236
00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:12,760
Speaker 4: people who maybe have not made the leap into the

237
00:14:12,800 --> 00:14:17,960
Speaker 4: electric era yet, we had tried to engineer out every

238
00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:21,040
Speaker 4: reason why you wouldn't. And of course it's going to

239
00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:24,280
Speaker 4: be a Mercedes through and through it ushers in our

240
00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:27,880
Speaker 4: new design language. So next generation design language from Mercedes

241
00:14:27,880 --> 00:14:31,360
Speaker 4: will start with this car, and if you step into it,

242
00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:34,800
Speaker 4: you feel at home. It's like a welcome home feeling

243
00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:38,800
Speaker 4: of a Mercedes Benz and considering it's a compact suv,

244
00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:42,880
Speaker 4: it's pretty big. If I put myself in my most

245
00:14:42,880 --> 00:14:45,560
Speaker 4: comfortable driving position, and I'm six four and a half,

246
00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:50,120
Speaker 4: I could actually sit behind myself very comfortably, have space

247
00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:52,600
Speaker 4: between the seat and my knees, and certainly between the

248
00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:56,240
Speaker 4: head and the very beautiful sky roof. So we have

249
00:14:56,360 --> 00:15:02,440
Speaker 4: thought this package through into the last detail. So I

250
00:15:02,480 --> 00:15:07,040
Speaker 4: think this car is something that is going to convince

251
00:15:07,080 --> 00:15:08,520
Speaker 4: Mercedes fans around the world.

252
00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:10,720
Speaker 3: Sounds impressive, certainly for tall drivers.

253
00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:13,720
Speaker 2: Hannah and I both have the same issues I'm sure

254
00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:17,560
Speaker 2: that you have in a normal vehicle. What about the

255
00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:23,080
Speaker 2: boldness that we've seen from BMW, Some analysts are worried

256
00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:25,840
Speaker 2: that Mercedes may be a little bit more conservative. I'm

257
00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:28,040
Speaker 2: not sure that they can make that judgment until they

258
00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:30,880
Speaker 2: see the vehicle this weekend. But you know, four hundred

259
00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:34,360
Speaker 2: horsepower from a dual motor setup in the Noia class

260
00:15:34,400 --> 00:15:37,880
Speaker 2: to four hundred miles of EPA range two hundred miles

261
00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:40,160
Speaker 2: of charging in ten minutes, can you meet or beat

262
00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:40,920
Speaker 2: those standards?

263
00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:44,000
Speaker 4: If you would just take out the technical spec book

264
00:15:44,040 --> 00:15:47,840
Speaker 4: of the new GLC. We're not going to be shy

265
00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:52,720
Speaker 4: in literally every single dimension. We will be world class

266
00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:56,360
Speaker 4: in many the outright leader and in some amongst the best.

267
00:15:57,000 --> 00:15:58,880
Speaker 4: So we have pulled out all the stops with the

268
00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:03,280
Speaker 4: new GLC at all worried that the technical specs of

269
00:16:03,320 --> 00:16:07,400
Speaker 4: this vehicle has anything to hide. And I also would

270
00:16:07,440 --> 00:16:12,240
Speaker 4: like to highlight the Numerocedes bands operating system and the

271
00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:16,600
Speaker 4: ADAS capability of this vehicle. It literally has twenty seven

272
00:16:16,680 --> 00:16:20,000
Speaker 4: sensors looking in all directions, and it has the supercomputer

273
00:16:20,120 --> 00:16:24,240
Speaker 4: on board and all the genes for jumping into level

274
00:16:24,280 --> 00:16:28,760
Speaker 4: two plus plus automated driving from the word go where

275
00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:32,680
Speaker 4: it's regulatory allowed. So literally it feels like you have

276
00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:36,320
Speaker 4: an autonomous car still in this case supervised by the driver.

277
00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:41,240
Speaker 4: And if you then add the absolutely insane ultra screen

278
00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:45,600
Speaker 4: pillar to pillar, and I'm talking about one seamless screen

279
00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:50,360
Speaker 4: in this case, and how we have added any digital

280
00:16:50,400 --> 00:16:53,360
Speaker 4: experience that you can possibly dream of to this car,

281
00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:57,080
Speaker 4: but also giving it an esthetic look like maybe you

282
00:16:57,120 --> 00:16:59,840
Speaker 4: have on your smartphone. You have a very very nice

283
00:16:59,840 --> 00:17:03,640
Speaker 4: and beautiful wallpaper. All of those things that also makes

284
00:17:04,040 --> 00:17:11,679
Speaker 4: the feeling inside the car a digital delightful experience but

285
00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:15,280
Speaker 4: beyond the high tech where we're definitely going to be

286
00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:18,520
Speaker 4: on the leading edge, it's more than this. It's a

287
00:17:18,560 --> 00:17:22,200
Speaker 4: car made for you. So every single dimension of the car,

288
00:17:22,320 --> 00:17:25,239
Speaker 4: the safety, the way it rides and drives, how the

289
00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:28,320
Speaker 4: seat wraps around you. You can drive hundreds of miles

290
00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:31,200
Speaker 4: and you feel refreshed when you step out of the car.

291
00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:33,919
Speaker 4: The things that make a Mercedes Spens and Mercedes Spence,

292
00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:36,400
Speaker 4: all of those things have been taken to the next

293
00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:40,080
Speaker 4: level in this car as well. So creating an important

294
00:17:40,160 --> 00:17:43,960
Speaker 4: vehicle like this, it's not just about the flashy technical

295
00:17:44,040 --> 00:17:47,400
Speaker 4: numbers that we have. It's really thinking through what does

296
00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:51,200
Speaker 4: the human want. This is human centered innovation at its

297
00:17:51,359 --> 00:17:54,439
Speaker 4: very best. Stay tuned for Sunday when we reveal it.

298
00:17:54,880 --> 00:17:58,320
Speaker 1: Well, I'm curious on the other side of things. I know,

299
00:17:58,440 --> 00:18:03,200
Speaker 1: obviously you're the head of the European automaker body, the ACEA,

300
00:18:03,560 --> 00:18:08,080
Speaker 1: and you've been pretty vocal about regulations that are realistic

301
00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:12,560
Speaker 1: for meeting decarbonation goals, etc. Can you tell us a

302
00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:15,480
Speaker 1: little bit more about what you mean by realistic? What

303
00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:20,240
Speaker 1: would that look like to have a market driven regulatory

304
00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:22,639
Speaker 1: infrastructure versus something else.

305
00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:26,480
Speaker 4: So, in the role as president of Asia this year,

306
00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:29,119
Speaker 4: and it's something that rotates between the CEOs of the

307
00:18:29,119 --> 00:18:31,880
Speaker 4: car makers in Europe. You have to kind of take

308
00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:35,840
Speaker 4: off your own hat running your own companies, take off

309
00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:39,159
Speaker 4: the Mercedes Benz hat and I put on an industry

310
00:18:39,160 --> 00:18:42,159
Speaker 4: hat and talk to all the OEMs, but not just

311
00:18:42,240 --> 00:18:46,720
Speaker 4: the twenty plus OEMs. In this case, we stand side

312
00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:50,920
Speaker 4: by side with the sister organization for the suppliers that's

313
00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:55,480
Speaker 4: called CLIPA and Matthias think of Clipper and I are

314
00:18:55,560 --> 00:18:59,199
Speaker 4: working with the suppliers and the OEMs to do an

315
00:18:59,280 --> 00:19:03,240
Speaker 4: inventory where we stand right now in the regulatory environment

316
00:19:03,359 --> 00:19:09,879
Speaker 4: and how we successfully transform this industry and successfully find

317
00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:14,359
Speaker 4: the right path towards decarbonization. So I want to stress

318
00:19:14,400 --> 00:19:17,679
Speaker 4: that this is all the OEMs, with of course some

319
00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:22,760
Speaker 4: various opinions, but a strong common denominator and literally thousands

320
00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:26,320
Speaker 4: and thousands of suppliers, and the conclusion that we come

321
00:19:26,440 --> 00:19:30,200
Speaker 4: to is quite clear. We're all on the way towards

322
00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:33,600
Speaker 4: zero emission. There are no ifs or butts. That is

323
00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:38,080
Speaker 4: the journey, that is the destination. The EU as an

324
00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:41,439
Speaker 4: economic region has committed to being net zero by twenty

325
00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:46,760
Speaker 4: to fifty. We wholeheartedly support this. We also wholeheartedly support

326
00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:50,679
Speaker 4: that electrification is the main road to this, so the

327
00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:54,639
Speaker 4: electric vehicle will play the main role in achieving those

328
00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:59,000
Speaker 4: targets on the way to net zero. To demonstrate that,

329
00:19:59,119 --> 00:20:01,320
Speaker 4: not only have we in the last five or six

330
00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:08,000
Speaker 4: years put hundreds of billions of investment into this manufacturers

331
00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:11,800
Speaker 4: and suppliers and launched hundreds of vehicles, so there is

332
00:20:11,840 --> 00:20:16,160
Speaker 4: a very broad offering already, and on top of that,

333
00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:20,760
Speaker 4: we're about to invest the next chunk of hundreds of

334
00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:25,160
Speaker 4: billions into this. So the industry is committed. I want

335
00:20:25,160 --> 00:20:29,280
Speaker 4: to say that as a preface before we go into

336
00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:32,520
Speaker 4: the challenges, and we need to make some course corrections.

337
00:20:33,359 --> 00:20:38,800
Speaker 4: In spite of the ambition, In spite of those good efforts,

338
00:20:39,320 --> 00:20:43,200
Speaker 4: one must recognize and for the world as a whole,

339
00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:46,800
Speaker 4: the world markets at the whole, it's a very heterogeneous picture.

340
00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:50,560
Speaker 4: You use the word chaotic, I would say heterogeneous. That

341
00:20:50,840 --> 00:20:57,080
Speaker 4: the state or the take rate of BEVs what we

342
00:20:57,160 --> 00:21:00,239
Speaker 4: thought five or six years ago is not yet at

343
00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:03,240
Speaker 4: the level in twenty twenty five that we should have

344
00:21:03,320 --> 00:21:06,280
Speaker 4: been at, and we're now looking at kind of nine

345
00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:11,959
Speaker 4: years time to go to literally one hundred percent, and

346
00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:16,879
Speaker 4: that's where we're saying, okay, if we haven't achieved as

347
00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:21,920
Speaker 4: a market, as a region already the milestones, then we

348
00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:24,280
Speaker 4: analyze why is that and where do we make a

349
00:21:24,320 --> 00:21:29,280
Speaker 4: course correction, and we suggest in general two main things.

350
00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:36,600
Speaker 4: One is absolutely doubling down on the enabling factors and

351
00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:41,119
Speaker 4: putting money behind, an effort, behind everything that you need

352
00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:45,240
Speaker 4: to make electric mobility successful. I'm going to use one example,

353
00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:50,560
Speaker 4: charging infrastructure. The EU has twenty seven individual countries. I

354
00:21:50,560 --> 00:21:53,119
Speaker 4: would say in about six or seven of those, in

355
00:21:53,160 --> 00:21:57,120
Speaker 4: the last five six years, a significant effort has been

356
00:21:57,119 --> 00:22:01,000
Speaker 4: made and charging infrastructure has been built up, maybe not

357
00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:03,280
Speaker 4: as much as it should have been at this stage,

358
00:22:03,600 --> 00:22:06,439
Speaker 4: but it's on the way. But literally in twenty of

359
00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:10,480
Speaker 4: the twenty seven countries it's still in its infancy. Do

360
00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:13,600
Speaker 4: we believe do we really believe to cover one hundred

361
00:22:13,600 --> 00:22:16,680
Speaker 4: percent of the purchase intent by twenty thirty five in

362
00:22:16,760 --> 00:22:20,560
Speaker 4: nine years time, that in those nine years we're going

363
00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:25,000
Speaker 4: to go from an infancy stage to fully fledged, built

364
00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:30,240
Speaker 4: out charging infrastructure in every single country. Because we're talking

365
00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:34,000
Speaker 4: about the whole market here, that's going to be a

366
00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:38,560
Speaker 4: herculean task. Whatever we do, we have to double down

367
00:22:38,600 --> 00:22:42,040
Speaker 4: on this to make sure that electric mobility becomes even

368
00:22:42,119 --> 00:22:48,479
Speaker 4: more attractive to consumers and ultimately is the thing you

369
00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:51,880
Speaker 4: can couple that with all sorts of other measures where

370
00:22:51,880 --> 00:22:55,119
Speaker 4: we're suggesting to the Commission not a ready recipe and

371
00:22:55,200 --> 00:22:59,680
Speaker 4: say do exactly this, but think about incentivization and nudging

372
00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:05,440
Speaker 4: when shaping policies to make the total cost of ownership

373
00:23:05,480 --> 00:23:08,720
Speaker 4: of the electric vehicle even more attractive so that we

374
00:23:08,800 --> 00:23:12,200
Speaker 4: can get ultimately one day to full penetration.

375
00:23:12,840 --> 00:23:14,000
Speaker 3: But it seems in just.

376
00:23:15,640 --> 00:23:19,919
Speaker 4: Stock taking, it's a very very big ask now that

377
00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:22,960
Speaker 4: we're around fifteen percent take rate in twenty twenty five

378
00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:25,560
Speaker 4: achieved in the last five or six years, to do

379
00:23:25,680 --> 00:23:32,040
Speaker 4: the eighty five in nine years time. But that ask

380
00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:36,560
Speaker 4: double down on the enabling conditions. That's number one. Number two,

381
00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:39,200
Speaker 4: we think that the method in general that is being

382
00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:45,400
Speaker 4: applied select only one stakeholder of many in this once

383
00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:48,280
Speaker 4: in one hundred years systemic shift and put the complete

384
00:23:48,280 --> 00:23:51,000
Speaker 4: burden on that stakeholder, in this case the producer of

385
00:23:51,040 --> 00:23:53,879
Speaker 4: the vehicle, and if the producer of the vehicle doesn't

386
00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:59,199
Speaker 4: make it, sanction it with draconian penalties. We don't think

387
00:23:59,280 --> 00:24:03,560
Speaker 4: that method, that planning method is the best method. We

388
00:24:03,600 --> 00:24:05,920
Speaker 4: want to turn it on its head and say why

389
00:24:05,920 --> 00:24:09,399
Speaker 4: don't we use market forces instead and switch to a

390
00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:15,239
Speaker 4: market economy driven approach with incentivization and nudging, free up

391
00:24:15,280 --> 00:24:19,520
Speaker 4: the market for technology neutrality and let the consumer choose.

392
00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:23,600
Speaker 4: And I underline again with the electric cars as the

393
00:24:23,640 --> 00:24:28,560
Speaker 4: main actor in this play, but also allow different forms

394
00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:32,359
Speaker 4: of hybrid formats and maybe a sliver at the bottom

395
00:24:32,359 --> 00:24:37,680
Speaker 4: of combustion, high tech combustion electronic combustion vehicles where some

396
00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:40,640
Speaker 4: of the segments of the markets by twenty thirty five

397
00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:43,920
Speaker 4: are still hard to abate from a consumer point of view.

398
00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:46,919
Speaker 4: If we switch to that, we should then open up

399
00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:50,359
Speaker 4: the horizon and look at the complete CO two footprint

400
00:24:50,359 --> 00:24:54,080
Speaker 4: of what's going on, not just the tailpipe emission of

401
00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:57,160
Speaker 4: the newly registered vehicles that are bought in that year.

402
00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:00,800
Speaker 4: In fact, the car park in Europe is two hundred

403
00:25:00,840 --> 00:25:04,520
Speaker 4: and fifty million vehicles and new registration sits at around

404
00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:08,040
Speaker 4: thirteen million vehicles. So you have in that sense maybe

405
00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:14,280
Speaker 4: five percent turnover of the fleet every year if consumers

406
00:25:14,320 --> 00:25:17,439
Speaker 4: don't choose to hang on to their cars longer. So

407
00:25:17,480 --> 00:25:19,560
Speaker 4: why don't we look at the CO two footprint in

408
00:25:19,600 --> 00:25:22,240
Speaker 4: a more holistic way and see if we can find ways,

409
00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:26,919
Speaker 4: if we flexibilize twenty thirty five to also reduce CO

410
00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:32,120
Speaker 4: two of the whole value chain here, So we want

411
00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:35,600
Speaker 4: to open up the discussion. And if we do do that,

412
00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:39,520
Speaker 4: we can avoid and I'll end with this for now,

413
00:25:39,640 --> 00:25:42,479
Speaker 4: we can avoid an effect that maybe if the system

414
00:25:42,560 --> 00:25:45,880
Speaker 4: is not ready, what could consumers do? And I think

415
00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:49,520
Speaker 4: this is a scenario that is not unlikely. If not

416
00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:53,240
Speaker 4: every purchase intent is covered by then through charging, infrastructure

417
00:25:53,280 --> 00:25:55,520
Speaker 4: or other reasons, why the consumer wants to go for

418
00:25:55,560 --> 00:25:59,960
Speaker 4: something else. The consumer might buy the last combustion vehicle

419
00:26:00,200 --> 00:26:03,680
Speaker 4: in thirty three or thirty four, hold on to it longer,

420
00:26:03,880 --> 00:26:08,439
Speaker 4: the car park gets older, very bad for decarbonization. The

421
00:26:08,560 --> 00:26:12,240
Speaker 4: market reduces drastically or maybe even collapses in twenty thirty five,

422
00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:14,000
Speaker 4: and it takes three or four or five years for

423
00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:16,960
Speaker 4: it to recover back up to the thirteen million. You

424
00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:21,040
Speaker 4: would destroy so much economic value, harm so many companies,

425
00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:25,480
Speaker 4: so many suppliers, mid size, smaller, family owned businesses. Why

426
00:26:25,520 --> 00:26:29,720
Speaker 4: would we want to jeopardize that economic strength of Europe's

427
00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:35,119
Speaker 4: biggest industry when there perhaps is a better path to

428
00:26:35,280 --> 00:26:40,400
Speaker 4: green That is what these two associations Assaiah and Klippa

429
00:26:40,720 --> 00:26:42,000
Speaker 4: are suggesting.

430
00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:45,280
Speaker 2: Well, you know, it makes total sense, Ola, and I

431
00:26:45,359 --> 00:26:48,200
Speaker 2: just wonder you don't have a lot of time left, right,

432
00:26:48,240 --> 00:26:49,800
Speaker 2: and you're going to I think the EU is going

433
00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:52,560
Speaker 2: to revisit this twenty thirty five goal next year. So

434
00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:56,040
Speaker 2: have you had a chance to speak with the for example,

435
00:26:56,080 --> 00:26:58,800
Speaker 2: the incoming German government, because they're willing to put their

436
00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:01,560
Speaker 2: money where their mouth is when comes to defense of Ukraine.

437
00:27:01,960 --> 00:27:03,760
Speaker 2: Shouldn't it be willing to put their money where their

438
00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:05,600
Speaker 2: mouth is when it comes to you.

439
00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:06,720
Speaker 3: Know, planet Earth?

440
00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:11,040
Speaker 2: And also you know how many hundreds of thousands of

441
00:27:11,320 --> 00:27:12,840
Speaker 2: auto workers are there in Germany?

442
00:27:13,320 --> 00:27:15,560
Speaker 3: Is friedrish Mari it's going to step up in.

443
00:27:16,359 --> 00:27:21,000
Speaker 4: This role as president of the association, I and also

444
00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:25,560
Speaker 4: my counterpart for Clipbomb. Of course, we're speaking with policymakers

445
00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:30,360
Speaker 4: in Brussels on all levels, but also in the different countries.

446
00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:32,960
Speaker 4: And yes, of course we have also spoken to the

447
00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:37,280
Speaker 4: German government and I think the and many other governments

448
00:27:37,320 --> 00:27:42,360
Speaker 4: for that matter, but also to trade unions and other stakeholders.

449
00:27:42,760 --> 00:27:46,639
Speaker 4: As I said, this is a multi stakeholders systemic shift.

450
00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:50,440
Speaker 4: Once in one hundred years, we're talking about the transformation

451
00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:53,160
Speaker 4: of the world's biggest industry, so it's not a small

452
00:27:53,359 --> 00:27:57,280
Speaker 4: small task here. What I think is happening now is

453
00:27:57,280 --> 00:28:00,119
Speaker 4: that we have a debate both in the industry and

454
00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:05,120
Speaker 4: with many of these stakeholders, and certainly in the political space,

455
00:28:05,880 --> 00:28:09,360
Speaker 4: where a lot of people are thinking, like us, saying, oh,

456
00:28:09,440 --> 00:28:11,880
Speaker 4: hang on a minute, if it's not working the way

457
00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:14,440
Speaker 4: we intended to, yes, we need to have a political

458
00:28:14,480 --> 00:28:17,480
Speaker 4: conversation about it. But of course there's also a strong

459
00:28:17,520 --> 00:28:22,920
Speaker 4: commitment to say, decarbonization is one of the major tasks

460
00:28:23,280 --> 00:28:27,240
Speaker 4: of this generation. Let's not lose any speed or any

461
00:28:27,280 --> 00:28:31,000
Speaker 4: momentum in decarbonization. So I think there are some stakeholders

462
00:28:31,040 --> 00:28:34,160
Speaker 4: that go like, if we do go for flexibilization, what's

463
00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:35,760
Speaker 4: going to happen? Are we going to slow down? It's

464
00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:39,080
Speaker 4: not what we're suggesting. We're suggesting to switch method to

465
00:28:39,120 --> 00:28:41,200
Speaker 4: a method that we think is actually going to be

466
00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:46,080
Speaker 4: more successful than the current method. So I am fully

467
00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:51,360
Speaker 4: aware that this political debate is alive, and right now

468
00:28:51,440 --> 00:28:57,200
Speaker 4: we're in this period where a common opinion for the EU,

469
00:28:57,760 --> 00:29:00,680
Speaker 4: if they're willing to change which we urge them to do,

470
00:29:01,800 --> 00:29:06,160
Speaker 4: needs to be formed. So expect the next weeks months

471
00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:11,840
Speaker 4: an intense debate on this, and indeed the European Commission

472
00:29:11,840 --> 00:29:16,120
Speaker 4: and Commission is listening to the auto industry, as is

473
00:29:16,200 --> 00:29:19,880
Speaker 4: the German government. That is, for instance, the reason why

474
00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:23,040
Speaker 4: they invite us to a summit meeting on the twelfth

475
00:29:23,080 --> 00:29:27,160
Speaker 4: of September to discuss these matters. So we're not at

476
00:29:27,160 --> 00:29:30,400
Speaker 4: the end of the discussion. I would say we're in

477
00:29:30,440 --> 00:29:31,440
Speaker 4: the middle of the beginning.

478
00:29:32,040 --> 00:29:34,600
Speaker 3: I'm Matt Miller along with Hannah Elliott. You're listening to

479
00:29:34,720 --> 00:29:37,960
Speaker 3: Hot Pursuit. We have more coming up after this.

480
00:29:49,160 --> 00:29:51,800
Speaker 1: Well, let's pivot a little bit to what has been

481
00:29:51,800 --> 00:29:54,960
Speaker 1: really a bright spot for Mercedes Bins, the G Class.

482
00:29:55,440 --> 00:29:58,720
Speaker 1: You and I have driven multiple variants of the G

483
00:29:58,840 --> 00:30:03,719
Speaker 1: Class together, and you know, there's so much excitement around

484
00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:08,040
Speaker 1: that vehicle and so much fandom and furvor for for decades.

485
00:30:09,160 --> 00:30:11,440
Speaker 1: You guys have already confirmed there will be a baby

486
00:30:11,480 --> 00:30:15,360
Speaker 1: G coming. What can you tell us about how that

487
00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:19,360
Speaker 1: is coming along, the planning for that, and also can

488
00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:22,120
Speaker 1: we expect any other variants of the G Class coming

489
00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:22,520
Speaker 1: our way?

490
00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:27,600
Speaker 4: So we're now in full serious development of this little

491
00:30:27,640 --> 00:30:31,520
Speaker 4: brother to the big G and we're very excited about

492
00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:35,200
Speaker 4: that car. We have shown it to you know, some

493
00:30:35,280 --> 00:30:38,080
Speaker 4: of our trusted dealers and other people that we know

494
00:30:38,120 --> 00:30:41,080
Speaker 4: are fans of the brand, and I get the same

495
00:30:41,080 --> 00:30:43,440
Speaker 4: reaction every time, and they go like wow, I mean,

496
00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:46,360
Speaker 4: is this the G that I've been waiting for for

497
00:30:46,520 --> 00:30:50,720
Speaker 4: my daughter, for my son, or or for myself. So yes,

498
00:30:50,920 --> 00:30:55,000
Speaker 4: I can confirm that series development has started this vehicle

499
00:30:55,760 --> 00:30:59,480
Speaker 4: and it is in the pipeline, so stay tuned. But

500
00:30:59,600 --> 00:31:02,720
Speaker 4: now that you mention it, and yes, Hannah, I vividly

501
00:31:02,760 --> 00:31:08,440
Speaker 4: remember going up the famous Shuckle Mountain outside Gratz in

502
00:31:08,480 --> 00:31:13,760
Speaker 4: Austria with you over rocks and trees and what have you,

503
00:31:14,280 --> 00:31:17,840
Speaker 4: the most hardcore of off roading in that electric G.

504
00:31:18,400 --> 00:31:22,000
Speaker 4: And I think we mastered that quite well together. So

505
00:31:22,520 --> 00:31:27,040
Speaker 4: the G is a legend, It's an icon in our portfolio.

506
00:31:27,240 --> 00:31:31,680
Speaker 4: There is another surprise coming on Sunday in Munich at

507
00:31:31,680 --> 00:31:36,640
Speaker 4: the IA, we will announce the rebirth of the G

508
00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:40,360
Speaker 4: class Cavallet. So the last time we had it, I

509
00:31:40,440 --> 00:31:44,400
Speaker 4: think the last series was in twenty thirteen. You could

510
00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:48,360
Speaker 4: buy it. We had a final edition. If you had

511
00:31:48,400 --> 00:31:51,920
Speaker 4: bought one of those, and I know that Bloomberg viewers

512
00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:54,960
Speaker 4: are savvy business people, you would have gotten it a

513
00:31:55,040 --> 00:31:57,240
Speaker 4: little bit north of one hundred thousand dollars if you

514
00:31:57,240 --> 00:32:01,320
Speaker 4: want to buy one now used one, albeit you probably

515
00:32:01,320 --> 00:32:03,680
Speaker 4: have to pay between four and five hundred thousand. So

516
00:32:03,760 --> 00:32:08,280
Speaker 4: you see the icon status of a g caabarelet. And

517
00:32:08,320 --> 00:32:11,160
Speaker 4: we have had so many fans say, when are you

518
00:32:11,160 --> 00:32:12,480
Speaker 4: going to bring it back? When are you going to

519
00:32:12,480 --> 00:32:14,040
Speaker 4: bring it back? When are you going to bring it back?

520
00:32:14,280 --> 00:32:16,520
Speaker 4: Now is the time to do it, So we have

521
00:32:17,240 --> 00:32:21,400
Speaker 4: decided to kick off the development of an open top.

522
00:32:21,560 --> 00:32:24,360
Speaker 3: G can I ask? I mean, I have so many

523
00:32:24,440 --> 00:32:28,040
Speaker 3: questions about this. I'm a big fan former owner.

524
00:32:28,520 --> 00:32:31,640
Speaker 2: I had a twenty twenty G five hundred in Berlin

525
00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:35,040
Speaker 2: that I loved. I've now turned it into a house

526
00:32:35,040 --> 00:32:38,080
Speaker 2: in Scarsdale. By the way, what kind of powertrain are

527
00:32:38,080 --> 00:32:41,240
Speaker 2: we expecting? Could this be electric and gas? Because I

528
00:32:41,240 --> 00:32:44,800
Speaker 2: think the electric powertrain really works well for the G class.

529
00:32:44,840 --> 00:32:46,479
Speaker 3: I know you and Hannah drove it and chuckle.

530
00:32:47,120 --> 00:32:49,320
Speaker 2: I got a chance to drive it around Westchester, which

531
00:32:49,360 --> 00:32:53,120
Speaker 2: was also fantastic. And how do you deal with nvh

532
00:32:53,280 --> 00:32:55,640
Speaker 2: Like one of the best things about the G class

533
00:32:55,680 --> 00:32:59,320
Speaker 2: is that you're in an absolute vault compared to other

534
00:32:59,720 --> 00:33:03,920
Speaker 2: off road vehicles. It's just worlds of difference in terms

535
00:33:03,920 --> 00:33:07,400
Speaker 2: of the noise vibration and harshness, how do you deal

536
00:33:07,440 --> 00:33:08,280
Speaker 2: with the convertible.

537
00:33:08,960 --> 00:33:12,080
Speaker 4: So on the power train, we'll keep We'll let you

538
00:33:12,520 --> 00:33:14,280
Speaker 4: guess for a little while longer. So I'm not going

539
00:33:14,320 --> 00:33:18,720
Speaker 4: to reveal that here today, but trust me, the hardcore

540
00:33:18,800 --> 00:33:20,600
Speaker 4: g fans are going to love what we're going to

541
00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:21,120
Speaker 4: do there.

542
00:33:21,560 --> 00:33:22,280
Speaker 3: And in terms of.

543
00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:26,080
Speaker 4: NVH, I think this is pretty amazing what has happened

544
00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:30,080
Speaker 4: on our convertibles over the year. I myself, even though

545
00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:31,920
Speaker 4: of course I get to drive a company car and

546
00:33:32,160 --> 00:33:35,000
Speaker 4: I'm thankful for it, I feel like a kid on

547
00:33:35,400 --> 00:33:37,400
Speaker 4: my birthday and Christmas on the same day. Every day

548
00:33:37,440 --> 00:33:41,240
Speaker 4: I step into, in my case, my EQS SUV, my

549
00:33:41,360 --> 00:33:47,240
Speaker 4: book I bought last year a personal car. I bought

550
00:33:47,280 --> 00:33:50,920
Speaker 4: an sl which is obviously a convertible, and I'm in

551
00:33:51,360 --> 00:33:55,520
Speaker 4: driving SLS and test driving and stuff like that over

552
00:33:55,560 --> 00:33:57,720
Speaker 4: the many years, so I know obviously what a convertible

553
00:33:57,760 --> 00:34:01,080
Speaker 4: feels like. And when it comes to envy, what struck

554
00:34:01,160 --> 00:34:05,680
Speaker 4: me the most, next to the incredible beauty of this

555
00:34:05,760 --> 00:34:07,720
Speaker 4: car and the performance, was that when I took it

556
00:34:07,760 --> 00:34:10,600
Speaker 4: for the first time on the Autubahn and I pushed

557
00:34:10,640 --> 00:34:14,480
Speaker 4: it a little bit, is how incredibly quiet it is.

558
00:34:15,080 --> 00:34:17,120
Speaker 4: And this is what I love about our engineers. You

559
00:34:17,120 --> 00:34:20,040
Speaker 4: know they never stop right. It always gets better and

560
00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:22,879
Speaker 4: better and better. So you can rest assured when we

561
00:34:23,640 --> 00:34:27,600
Speaker 4: electrify now not to electrify. When we open up the

562
00:34:27,680 --> 00:34:31,279
Speaker 4: G and make it open top, don't worry about it.

563
00:34:31,719 --> 00:34:33,759
Speaker 4: You're going to be able to have a conversation with

564
00:34:33,840 --> 00:34:34,920
Speaker 4: whoever sits next to you.

565
00:34:35,160 --> 00:34:38,359
Speaker 1: Okay, I gotta ask what kind of timeline are we

566
00:34:38,560 --> 00:34:42,040
Speaker 1: talking about here? If the baby G might be out

567
00:34:42,080 --> 00:34:45,920
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty seven, what are we thinking for the cabriolet?

568
00:34:46,760 --> 00:34:48,760
Speaker 4: Not too far away?

569
00:34:49,360 --> 00:34:49,719
Speaker 3: That's it.

570
00:34:49,880 --> 00:34:54,360
Speaker 4: Let's just say that start working on selling that house, Matt.

571
00:34:54,920 --> 00:34:56,719
Speaker 4: You don't have to rush it so that you get

572
00:34:56,760 --> 00:35:00,640
Speaker 4: a good price. But it's not like it's not like

573
00:35:00,719 --> 00:35:03,759
Speaker 4: it's too far away. So wait and see.

574
00:35:03,960 --> 00:35:07,360
Speaker 1: And a follow up, is that cabriolet coming for the world?

575
00:35:07,680 --> 00:35:11,560
Speaker 1: Can we expect it'll be in all markets for Mercedes.

576
00:35:11,560 --> 00:35:14,680
Speaker 4: In the relevant markets. Not every market in the world

577
00:35:14,760 --> 00:35:17,759
Speaker 4: is a cabriolet market, but in all the relevant markets.

578
00:35:18,400 --> 00:35:19,880
Speaker 3: I want to ask about the SL.

579
00:35:19,960 --> 00:35:23,719
Speaker 2: You mentioned that you bought one for yourself, and I

580
00:35:23,880 --> 00:35:30,120
Speaker 2: had the pleasure of test driving the AMG SL sixty

581
00:35:30,160 --> 00:35:35,359
Speaker 2: three S performance last week, and the power in that

582
00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:37,759
Speaker 2: thing absolutely blew me away. And it wasn't until I

583
00:35:37,800 --> 00:35:40,279
Speaker 2: was talking about it with Hannah that I actually looked

584
00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:43,400
Speaker 2: up the specs and saw it's more than eight hundred

585
00:35:43,400 --> 00:35:46,600
Speaker 2: horse power and more than one thousand pound feet of torque.

586
00:35:46,880 --> 00:35:50,120
Speaker 2: Then I started looking at other vehicles with those kind

587
00:35:50,120 --> 00:35:50,880
Speaker 2: of power figures.

588
00:35:50,880 --> 00:35:52,080
Speaker 3: And it's not till I get to.

589
00:35:52,040 --> 00:35:56,080
Speaker 2: A Lamborghini Red Welto at double the price that I

590
00:35:56,160 --> 00:35:58,880
Speaker 2: start to see those kinds of figures. After that you

591
00:35:58,920 --> 00:36:01,759
Speaker 2: have to go to Bugatti and then Kunigzag. How has

592
00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:05,440
Speaker 2: that been received? And you know, two hundred twenty five

593
00:36:05,480 --> 00:36:07,960
Speaker 2: thousand seemed like a hefty price tag until I noticed

594
00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:08,800
Speaker 2: that that power.

595
00:36:09,040 --> 00:36:12,160
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's pretty crazy, isn't it. And if you're an

596
00:36:12,160 --> 00:36:14,919
Speaker 4: AMG fan, you're a performance fan, so you can never

597
00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:17,920
Speaker 4: have enough performance. But I think the best news is

598
00:36:18,320 --> 00:36:20,799
Speaker 4: that is a car that you can drive every day

599
00:36:20,840 --> 00:36:23,600
Speaker 4: to work. So it's not just that you have bought

600
00:36:23,600 --> 00:36:27,879
Speaker 4: a supercar with unbelievable acceleration and performance and all that.

601
00:36:28,400 --> 00:36:30,799
Speaker 4: It's a car that you can actually use every single day.

602
00:36:31,239 --> 00:36:34,879
Speaker 4: I think that's the unique position of AMG. You get

603
00:36:34,960 --> 00:36:38,600
Speaker 4: motorsports on the road, but on the road Monday through

604
00:36:38,600 --> 00:36:42,680
Speaker 4: Friday as well, not just for a Sunday afternoon outing.

605
00:36:43,320 --> 00:36:44,560
Speaker 3: It's really a car.

606
00:36:44,480 --> 00:36:46,200
Speaker 4: That you would like to drive every single day.

607
00:36:46,520 --> 00:36:48,920
Speaker 2: Our thanks Tola Kelenius for joining us. He's the chairman

608
00:36:48,960 --> 00:36:51,879
Speaker 2: of the management board and CEO of Mercedes Benz. I'm

609
00:36:51,880 --> 00:36:56,080
Speaker 2: pretty excited about driving the convertible g Wagon, the cabrio

610
00:36:56,239 --> 00:36:57,640
Speaker 2: g Yeah.

611
00:36:57,680 --> 00:36:59,799
Speaker 1: My question is going to be like, how much of

612
00:36:59,800 --> 00:37:02,520
Speaker 1: a cage does it have on it? Is it truly

613
00:37:02,680 --> 00:37:05,799
Speaker 1: like open, open air or does that have a cage

614
00:37:05,880 --> 00:37:07,799
Speaker 1: kind of like a jeep wrangler, you know what I mean?

615
00:37:08,239 --> 00:37:11,239
Speaker 1: Or is are they truly gonna go full cabrio? No?

616
00:37:11,400 --> 00:37:14,759
Speaker 2: I mean I imagine it'll have some kind of rollcage that

617
00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:18,880
Speaker 2: looks pretty boss when they do it right. Yeah, although

618
00:37:19,239 --> 00:37:21,759
Speaker 2: I guess did the previous did the older models just

619
00:37:21,840 --> 00:37:23,840
Speaker 2: have a full convertible top open?

620
00:37:24,320 --> 00:37:26,319
Speaker 1: It was open? It's been done well.

621
00:37:26,360 --> 00:37:29,320
Speaker 2: It'll be like two hundred grand, so I'm not gonna

622
00:37:29,520 --> 00:37:30,879
Speaker 2: step buying one anytime soon.

623
00:37:30,920 --> 00:37:33,560
Speaker 1: We can dream that does it. For this week's show.

624
00:37:33,719 --> 00:37:38,239
Speaker 1: Remember to follow and subscribe to Hot Pursuit on Apple, Spotify,

625
00:37:38,440 --> 00:37:41,560
Speaker 1: and anywhere else you listen. You can also send us

626
00:37:41,560 --> 00:37:44,839
Speaker 1: your comments. Please send us your comments. Email us at

627
00:37:44,880 --> 00:37:47,600
Speaker 1: Hot Pursuit at bloomberg dot net.

628
00:37:47,760 --> 00:37:50,759
Speaker 2: And check out Hannah's columns and stories on bloomberg dot

629
00:37:50,760 --> 00:37:54,080
Speaker 2: com and the Bloomberg Business App. Go there for car reviews,

630
00:37:54,200 --> 00:37:57,000
Speaker 2: events and stories that you won't find anywhere else. Find

631
00:37:57,000 --> 00:38:00,839
Speaker 2: it all at bloomberg dot com, slash Pursuits, Slack Howdos.

632
00:38:01,160 --> 00:38:03,839
Speaker 1: I'm Matt Miller and I'm Hannah Elliott. We'll be back

633
00:38:03,960 --> 00:38:09,480
Speaker 1: in your podcast feed again. Mexican MHM