Mercedes-Benz is the latest carmaker to pledge to go all-electric

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Daimler, the mega-carmaker that owns Mercedes-Benz and other German luxury vehicle brands, is committing to “being ready for an all-electric car market by 2030.” It’s going to do that by investing roughly $47 billion dollars into developing battery-electric vehicles, between 2022 and 2030.

The luxury carmaker is planning to build eight new battery plants, created with industry partners. Those plants would be staggered, as the mix of EV production gradually takes over from traditional combustion designs. Starting in 2025, all new vehicle platforms would be electric-only.

Daimler’s CEO, Ola Källenius, told Reuters that “we really want to go for it … and be dominantly, if not all electric, by the end of the decade,” while adding that spending on combustion engine technology would be “close to zero” by 2025.

READ MORE: Mercedes-Benz’s Vision EQXX just drove 621 miles on a single charge

That doesn’t necessarily mean that fossil-fuel cars won’t be in production after that date, just that development cash for new designs would dry up.

Other carmakers pledging to go all-electric include Volvo, who also said the same 2030 timeframe, and General Motors, who aspires to a 2035 switch to all-electric.

Even companies who don’t make their own vehicles are getting in on the act, with Uber and Lyft pledging to an all-electric fleet by 2030, and Amazon, which plans to have 100,000 electric delivery vans on the road by 2030, thanks to a partnership with Rivian.

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Editors’ Recommendations:

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.