Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      Public money, private plans: MPs demand Post Office transparency

      13 June 2025

      Coal to cash: South Africa gets major boost for energy shift

      13 June 2025

      China is behind in AI chips – but for how much longer?

      13 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025

      10 red flags for Apple investors

      13 June 2025
    • World

      Yahoo tries to make its mail service relevant again

      13 June 2025

      Qualcomm shows off new chip for AI smart glasses

      11 June 2025

      Trump tariffs to dim 2025 smartphone shipments

      4 June 2025

      Shrimp Jesus and the AI ad invasion

      4 June 2025

      Apple slams EU rules as ‘flawed and costly’ in major legal pushback

      2 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025

      Digital fortress: We go inside JB5, Teraco’s giant new AI-ready data centre

      30 May 2025

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025

      South Africa unveils big state digital reform programme

      12 May 2025

      Is this the end of Google Search as we know it?

      12 May 2025
    • TCS

      TechCentral Nexus S0E1: Starlink, BEE and a new leader at Vodacom

      8 June 2025

      TCS+ | The future of mobile money, with MTN’s Kagiso Mothibi

      6 June 2025

      TCS+ | AI is more than hype: Workday execs unpack real human impact

      4 June 2025

      TCS | Sentiv, and the story behind the buyout of Altron Nexus

      3 June 2025

      TCS | Signal restored: Unpacking the Blue Label and Cell C turnaround

      28 May 2025
    • Opinion

      Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

      2 June 2025

      South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

      2 June 2025

      Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

      29 May 2025

      Solar panic? The truth about SSEG, fines and municipal rules

      14 April 2025

      Data protection must be crypto industry’s top priority

      9 April 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » Motoring » Mercedes straddles old and new with electric S-Class reboot

    Mercedes straddles old and new with electric S-Class reboot

    By Agency Staff2 September 2020
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp

    For decades, the Mercedes S-Class has defined the gold standard in luxury sedans, chauffeuring around captains of industry and heads of state. But as more consumers gravitate toward SUVs and electric cars define cutting-edge technology, Daimler must prove its flagship remains relevant.

    The latest iteration of the S-Class, which the German car maker presents on Wednesday, will try to please tastes old and new — offering not just the high-powered combustion variant but also an improved hybrid version and, for the first time, a sleek all-electric sibling sold from next year.

    Despite its origins in the 1950s, the S-Class still pulls in major money for Daimler, particularly in China, where the company sells more of the model’s most expensive variant, the Maybach, than anywhere else. Rivals BMW and Volkswagen’s Audi have long tried to gain a bigger slice of the market but never managed to quite crack Daimler’s dominance.

    The hybrid model comes with an improved 100km battery range, and the series features software that enables level-3 autonomous driving

    The stakes for the latest version of the model could hardly be higher. Traditional car makers are pouring billions of euros into electrifying their fleets while still relying on combustion-powered cars for profits. Tesla, which sells a competing product in the Model S sedan, zoomed past them to become the world’s most valuable car company by far, shrugging off the deepest industry slump in decades triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic.

    “The new S-Class has to be the best car in the world in every respect,” said Roman Mathyssek, a consultant at Arthur D Little. “Nowadays that is more complex than ever before as all the traditional automotive luxury and refinement features need to be cleverly blended with cutting-edge environmental credentials, connectivity and autonomous functions.”

    Autonomous driving

    The hybrid model comes with an improved 100km battery range, and the series features software that enables level-3 autonomous driving, including assisted lane changing and a mechanism that keeps the car at a safe distance from other vehicles. Tesla has been aggressively marketing its self-driving technology, and CEO Elon Musk has said the company is close to achieving the requirements for fully autonomous driving — or level 5 — this year.

    Tesla’s shares quintupled this year, valuing the company at US$464-billion. Daimler, the world’s bestselling luxury car maker and biggest commercial vehicle producer by revenue, is worth $55-billion.

    The valuation gap between Tesla and its peers “will remain wide or wider until car makers have viable electric vehicle businesses” and can start shedding legacy assets, Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois said in a report last week.

    The one to beat … the Tesla Model S

    After the coronavirus outbreak shut factories and showrooms, Daimler CEO Ola Kallenius expanded a restructuring push to restore earnings. While Mercedes has maintained its sales lead over BMW and Audi in recent years, underlying profits deteriorated due to regulatory costs, ballooning expenses for new technology and poor efficiency.

    The Stuttgart-based manufacturer plans to cut more than 15 000 jobs worldwide and Kallenius pledged to put a stronger focus on larger luxury cars like the S-Class or the GLE SUV to lift returns.

    Defending their strong presence in the luxury car segment during the accelerating shift toward electric cars will be key for German manufacturers to compete in the future, said Bankhaus Metzler analyst Juergen Pieper.

    “It’s interesting to see that after years of various efforts to become more efficient, Kallenius and his new team now really seem to start changing things from scratch,” Pieper said.  — Reported by Christoph Rauwald, (c) 2020 Bloomberg LP



    Daimler Elon Musk Mercedes-Benz Tesla top
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleUS, China should seek a truce in technology Cold War
    Next Article MTN in deal with Apple to provide free music to subscribers

    Related Posts

    Up to Icasa whether Starlink gets a licence: Malatsi

    11 June 2025

    EV bloodbath in China

    9 June 2025

    Elon Musk to Donald Trump: ‘Go ahead, make my day’

    6 June 2025
    Company News

    Huawei Watch Fit 4 Series: smarter sensors, sharper design, stronger performance

    13 June 2025

    Change Logic and BankservAfrica set new benchmark with PayShap roll-out

    13 June 2025

    SAPHILA 2025 – transcending with purpose, connection and AI-powered vision

    13 June 2025
    Opinion

    Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

    2 June 2025

    South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

    2 June 2025

    Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

    29 May 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.