Mercedes-Benz foresees EV-only production lines within a few years

The carmaker foresees some of its production lines within factories switching fully to electric even sooner.

Mercedes-Benz expects to have factories producing exclusively electric vehicles (EVs) by the second half of the decade but will steer clear of building EV-only plants, instead keeping production lines flexible in line with market demand.

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The carmaker foresees some of its production lines within factories switching fully to electric even sooner, production chief Joerg Burzer said in an interview with Reuters.

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"Building a whole new battery-electric vehicle factory takes time. We have taken another approach," Burzer said.

"We will certainly have some lines producing only electric vehicles in the next few years... we also see whole factories switching to electric - that is a topic for the second half of the decade."

The premium carmaker will launch production of its EQE model, revealed last September at the IAA Mobility show, in Bremen later this year, followed by Beijing and Tuscaloosa.