Mercedes-AMG will continue to produce inline-four V8 internal combustion engines; AMG electric cars are yet to be launched

Mercedes-AMG plans to continue producing internal combustion engines as long as the law allows, and the high-performance automaker has not given an end date for their production. Car The announcement from the German automaker’s performance division comes as demand for electric vehicles in Europe is falling, the publication reported.

While AMG has not set a date for phasing out internal combustion engines from its high-performance models, the brand still sees its future as an all-electric automaker if legislation banning internal combustion-powered vehicles passes, Mercedes-AMG CEO Michael Schiebe said.

“We don’t have an end date, but that would be a very dogmatic discussion. Our main goal is to meet customer demand. We still see a lot of customers who love our V8s and our high-performance four-cylinders. We don’t have an end date, but I’m pretty sure AMG will become a fully electric company,” Schiebe said.

While Mercedes-Benz has reported Canceled development for MB.EA Large platform for its full-size electric models earlier this year, Schiebe confirmed that work was underway to build AMG.EA’s own architecture for all-electric AMG models, and that he had been test-driving prototypes of these models on a weekly basis.

“We will soon see a fully electric AMG, and then we will see how many customers jump on this technology. We will have pure ICE, [hybrids] and then fully electric, but right now, at least in Europe there is a law to end the internal combustion engine by 2035. If that happens, we will offer high-performance fully electric cars. I don’t want to give a specific date or strategic direction because we are completely flexible here,” Schiebe said.

The AMG chief also admitted that the PHEV four-cylinder powertrain in the latest version Performance of the Mercedes-AMG C 63 SE received a lukewarm reception as some customers “took a while to really get into the technology,” although he added that AMG had also gained new customers with the model.

“At AMG we are a technology brand and we don’t want to say that we only have V8 engines and we will do that forever. It’s important to be open when it comes to technology,” he said.

While Schiebe said AMG “made the right decision and you will be very excited when we launch” the upcoming AMG CLE 63, Car previously reported that the top-of-the-line performance coupé will return to a twin-turbo V8 petrol engine, citing sales of the four-cylinder PHEV W206 C 63 “significantly lower than its V8-powered predecessor” in global markets.

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