"We will be launching new EVs in the next 8-12 months"

By Rahul Kamat,

Added 04 January 2024

In an exclusive interaction with Rahul Kamat, Vyankatesh Kulkarni, MercedesBenz’s Executive Director and Head of Operations, said that the company will be launching new EVs from their global portfolio suited to the Indian market. This involves launching electric versions of popular models tailored to Indian consumer preferences and market demands. Kulkarni further mentioned that Mercedes-Benz has established an extensive ultra-fast charging network of over 140 chargers.

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What's more? By 2025, we aim to have 100 per cent Franchise Partners operating on ‘Green Energy.' We run consistent programs to sensitize employees to become environment-conscious and responsible by going completely paperless by 2023 and reducing our water consumption and waste by 20 per cent. Our plant in Chakan is a pioneer in setting up the Biodiversity Index among MB World and it hosts over 300 species of flora and over 75 fauna in our factory premises.

Aligned with our sustainable goal, our cars are built with sustainability in mind. All our vehicles are a minimum of 85 per cent recyclable. For example, the components in the EQS, are manufactured resource-efficiently using recycled and renewable raw materials.

What steps is Mercedes-Benz taking to create a circular economy within the automotive sector, considering factors like recycling, waste reduction, and responsible resource management?

With our ‘Ambition 2039' roadmap, Mercedes-Benz has set the target of making our fleet of new vehicles net carbon-neutral, over the vehicles' entire life cycle by 2039. Our vehicle production locations achieved net carbon neutrality in 2022, and the company aims to massively increase the share of renewables it uses and generates, with a target of more than 70 per cent by 2030.

We have also set the goal of achieving net carbon neutrality along the entire value chain in our fleet of new vehicles in 2039. That said, to conserve valuable resources, globally, Mercedes-Benz's major goal is the circular economy, especially battery recycling. At our battery recycling factory in Kuppenheim, Germany, the hydrometallurgy process with a recovery rate of more than 96 per cent enables a truly circular economy of battery materials.

At Mercedes-Benz, we aim to use the old batteries of today as a ‘mine' for the batteries of tomorrow. In the future, we will use them to extract the raw materials we need for new battery systems with the help of recycling. We have taken various initiatives as well, such as solar power energy, zero liquid discharge, 100 per cent carbon neutrality, hazardous waste recovery, optimisation of water usage, enhancement in biodiversity etc. to name a few.