He is american, 49 years old, and a key contributor to how the Mercedes-Benz passenger cars, the conclusion of the Daimler AG, to cope with the transformation. As head of research and development at Mercedes met Ola Källenius to the press on Tuesday ahead of the opening of the Geneva motor show. ”Transformation”, as he calls the process, with cost savings able to realize the production of electric cars that customers can afford.
it will not go. For example, we have just been able to take a decision on the collaboration with BMW to develop self-driven vehicles, ” says Källenius, at the end of may step up to company’s highest position, as chief executive officer for Daimler AG.
Västervikssonens entire career within Daimler has also taken place outside Sweden’s borders, including in Germany, the united states and the united kingdom.
He didn’t stand in the chair with that electrification is a big challenge. Soon will Mercedes ‘ first pure electric car, suven Mercedes-Benz EQC, to be launched as the first part in what we call the EQ family. Many more models will follow, both fully electric and plug-in hybrids and mildhybrider.
with it is to locate the batterifabriker required near the car factories, stresses Ola Källenius:
– the Batteries together with the body of the car, the biggest part of the car. The heavy transport requires proximity.
Källenius ensures that Daimler has done with suppliers to get the battery capacity required. Furthermore, it ensures he has full focus on to check how batteriframställningen go to, that it is sustainable and takes place in an acceptable work environment.
“We are looking through the whole chain and we won’t stop until we come down all the way to the gruvnivån,” he says, with reference to koboltbrytning, a business that mediegranskningar shown not infrequent in the mines in Africa where labour is in distress.
for Mercedes-Benz – applicable also for other manufacturers – is that the future of electric cars in terms of cost, can stand on its own legs.
– The total costs in the long term for the electric car must be similar to the one that currently exists for fossilbilen, regardless of which government subsidies in different markets which affect the price tag, ” says Ola Källenius.
