AMG Planning Electric Models to Battle the Porsche Taycan
AMG hopes to double sales with hybrid and all-electric versions of multiple Mercedes-Benz performance models.
AMG is arguably the best-known performance sub-brand in the world, offering high powered models for many of the Mercedes-Benz cars and sport utility vehicles. However, as the brand moves forward, they want to double sales without doubling the carbon footprint and the only way to do that is to introduce more electrification. Fortunately, while speaking with Manager Magazin, Daimler boss Ola Källenius outlined some vague plans for the future of the AMG brand, with lots of electrification.
Electric First Mantra for AMG
According to Electrive, Källenius explained that Mercedes-Benz will roll out their new corporate strategy in November, and the focus of that new plan is “electric first”. Among other goals, the AMG brand hopes to double sales in the near future, but they can’t do so with a lineup of big, powerful V8 engines with forced induction. AMG already contributes a significant amount of CO2 emissions to the corporate footprint and in doubling sales, that contribution would obviously go way up if they all had twin turbocharged V8.
AMG is already working on a variant of the four-door GT super sedan that will offer hybrid power, coupling with powerful V8 with at least one electric motor, but it could feature a dual-electric motor setup. That hybrid is a great first step, but the success of the AMG lineup will require far more. Fortunately, the smaller Benz vehicles would make for even better hybrid models, so the high performance brand has a tremendous amount of potential to introduce fun-to-drive hybrids.
However, the company also plans to challenge Porsche’s new Taycan electric sport sedan. It is unclear which Mercedes sedan would serve as the base for the Taycan-fighter, but there are several options. The E63, S65 and GT 63 would all fit in the fight with the electric Porsche, and we could conceivably see electric versions of all three over time, but in the near future, the GT sedan seems like the best fit.
Why Electrification?
In the early days of hybrid and all-electric automotive technology, the systems were designed purely for efficient driving, which often led to unpleasant driving dynamics that simply wouldn’t work for the AMG brand. Things have changed a great deal over the past few years, with an array of high performance hybrids being joined by pure electric models that offer world class performance.
The Porsche Taycan is the best example of these advancement in electric vehicle technology outside of all-electric companies like Tesla. Porsche has proven that an EV can offer great range and impressive performance, making it seem more likely that the future of the auto industry is electrification. If they Taycan proves to be as successful as the Tesla Model S in terms of sales volume, only to be joined by AMG with similar high performance models, we could see a huge boom in go-fast EVs in the near decade.
Photos: Mercedes-Benz