Mercedes-Benz is going all-electric starting in 2025, with plans to launch three electric-only architectures that year and install over 200 Gigawatt hours of battery cell capacity across eight factories.
Earlier today, Mercedes-Benz, a German automaker based in Stuttgart, announced its plan to be fully electric by the end of the decade. However, any newly launched architectures will be electric-only starting in 2025, the company said.
“Mercedes-Benz is getting ready to go all-electric by the end of the decade, where market conditions allow. Shifting from electric-first to electric-only, the world’s preeminent luxury car company is accelerating toward an emissions-free and software-driven future,” the company stated in a press release.
Mercedes EQS EV spied benchmarking against Tesla Model S and Model 3
Mercedes-Benz is just one of the many automakers that are now choosing to transition to fully electric lineups. As the dynamic of the automotive industry continues to work toward a transition to electric powertrains, more companies are announcing their plans to ditch combustion engines in favor of battery-powered cars. Lamborghini is one of the more notable car companies that has announced this strategy.
The market shift is most certainly the root cause of Mercedes’ decision to transition to a fully electric lineup in the coming years. “The EV shift is picking up speed – especially in the luxury segment, where Mercedes-Benz belongs,” Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG CEO Ola Källenius said. “The tipping point is getting closer, and we will be ready as markets switch to electric-only by the end of this decade.”
Electric automotive enthusiasts are often skeptical of legacy automakers and OEMs alike, especially when plans or announcements come out that indicate a long-time ICE giant is planning to transition to electrification. There needs to be more than an announcement to convince shareholders and skeptics of their plan. Mercedes has a comprehensive game plan put in place that will solidify its intentions to ditch ICE vehicles, and it starts with a massive investment into battery EVs, which totals over €40 billion ($47.089 billion). The automaker has broken down its plan into four parts: Technology, Production, People, and Financial.
The tech plan includes three new architectures: the MB-EA, the AMG.EA, and the VAN.EA. Each architecture will power a specific class of vehicles, from performance vehicles to medium and large passenger cars to light commercial vehicles.
The production plan outlines how Mercedes plans to transition to BEV manufacturing, including assistance from GROB, a German global leader in highly innovative battery production and automated systems. Mercedes said it also plans to install a new battery recycling factory in Kuppenheim, Germany, which will help develop and secure recycling capacity. This will be operational in 2023.
The people plan outlines the retraining and reskilling of current employees. This has already been started, as Mercedes-Benz said it has already trained about 20,000 employees in aspects of e-mobility.
Finally, the financial plan shows that the company will reallocate its capital from “EV-first” to “EV-only.” Mercedes-Benz writes:
“Investments into combustion engines and plug-in hybrid technologies will drop by 80% between 2019 and 2026. On this basis, Mercedes-Benz projects company margins in a BEV world which are similar to those in the ICE era.”
You can read Mercedes-Benz entire plan here.
Tesla has launched a new Model Y configuration in the “Premium” trim, and it comes with three highly requested features that have launched in markets outside of the U.S. and in other trims.
Tesla announced on Monday night that it has officially launched the Model Y Premium in a seven-seat configuration, which also comes standard with a 16″ touchscreen and black headliner, both of which are featured in the Model Y Performance trim.
The seven-seat configuration is highly requested by consumers and helps fill out the more spacious SUV offering that the lineup has missed outside of the Model X, which prices out many consumers. This new upgrade only costs $2,500 extra for all three features, bringing the cash price to $48,990.
This also comes with the larger 16” touchscreen! pic.twitter.com/aiAxWUTKZa
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 13, 2026
The move to add the seven-seat configuration with the black headliner and additional screen size is a welcome addition, as many Tesla fans have asked the company to come out with an SUV with more seating capacity. Although it is not a full-size SUV, the additional seating will certainly attract some buyers with bigger families.
It appears the third row is slightly more spacious than the past iteration of the seven-seat Model Y, which was available in the previous design pre-Juniper:
Credit: Tesla
However, it definitely still appears to be pretty cramped in terms of legroom. It will definitely be a seating arrangement for smaller passengers, mostly reserved for children.
The other two upgrades are the black headliner, which was launched in other markets and in the Model Y Performance. Many owners have wanted this change, and Tesla listened, but is only offering it with the seven-seat configuration. It also has a larger 16″ touchscreen, also present in the Model Y Performance exclusively:
Credit: Tesla
It is a nice touch to add these highly requested features to the all-electric crossover, which was the best-selling vehicle in the world for the third consecutive year.
Tesla has expanded its branded ‘For Business’ Supercharger program that it launched last year, as yet another company is using the platform to attract EV owners to its business and utilize a unique advertising opportunity.
Francis Energy of Oklahoma is launching four Superchargers in Norman, where the University of Oklahoma is located. The Superchargers, which are fitted with branding for Francis Energy, will officially open tomorrow.
It will not be the final Supercharger location that Francis Energy plans to open, the company confirmed to EVWire.
Back in early September, Tesla launched the new “Supercharger for Business” program in an effort to give businesses the ability to offer EV charging at custom rates. It would give their businesses visibility and would also cater to employees or customers.
“Purchase and install Superchargers at your business,” Tesla wrote on a page on its website for the new program. “Superchargers are compatible with all electric vehicles, bringing EV drivers to your business by offering convenient, reliable charging.”
The first site opened in Land O’ Lakes, Florida, which is Northeast of Tampa, as a company called Suncoast launched the Superchargers for local EV owners.
Tesla launches its new branded Supercharger for Business with first active station
The program also does a great job at expanding infrastructure for EV owners, which is something that needs to be done to encourage more people to purchase Teslas and other electric cars.
Francis Energy operates at least 14 EV charging locations in Oklahoma, spanning from Durant to Oklahoma City and nearly everywhere in between. Filings from the company, listed by Supercharge.info, show the company’s plans to convert some of them to Tesla Superchargers, potentially utilizing the new Supercharger for Business program to advertise.
Moving forward, more companies will likely utilize Tesla’s Supercharger for Business program as it presents major advantages in a variety of ways, especially with advertising and creating a place for EV drivers to gain range in their cars.
Tesla Cybercab is perhaps the most highly-anticipated project that the company plans to roll out this year, and as it is undergoing its testing phase in pre-production currently, there are some things to work through with it.
Over the weekend, an image of the Cybercab being loaded onto a tow truck started circulating on the internet, and people began to speculate as to what the issue could be.
Hmmmmmm… https://t.co/L5hWcOXQkb pic.twitter.com/OJBDyHNTMj
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 11, 2026
The Cybercab can clearly be seen with a Police Officer and perhaps the tow truck driver by its side, being loaded onto, or even potentially unloaded from, the truck.
However, it seems unlikely it was being offloaded, as its operation would get it to this point for testing to begin with.
It appears, at first glance, that it needs assistance getting back to wherever it came from; likely Gigafactory Texas or potentially a Bay Area facility.
The Cybercab was also spotted in Buffalo, New York, last week, potentially undergoing cold-weather testing, but it doesn’t appear that’s where this incident took place.
It is important to remember that the Cybercab is currently undergoing some rigorous testing scenarios, which include range tests and routine public road operation. These things help Tesla assess any potential issue the vehicle could run into after it starts routine production and heads to customers, or for the Robotaxi platform operation.
This is not a one-off issue, either. Tesla had some instances with the Semi where it was seen broken down on the side of a highway three years ago. The all-electric Semi has gone on to be successful in its early pilot program, as companies like Frito-Lay and PepsiCo. have had very positive remarks.
The Cybercab’s future is bright, and it is important to note that no vehicle model has ever gone its full life without a breakdown. It happens, it’s a car.
Nevertheless, it is important to note that there has been no official word on what happened with this particular Cybercab unit, but it is crucial to remember that this is the pre-production testing phase, and these things are more constructive than anything.
Tesla Model Y gets fresh configuration with three highly requested features
Tesla expands its branded ‘For Business’ Superchargers
