Daimler Wants Increased Cooperation With Tesla Motors

November 7th, 2013 by Nicholas Brown

Back in 2009, Daimler chose to work with Tesla Motors, as they were both trying to develop electric vehicles that would interest consumers. The two companies ended up developing cars which are almost the opposite of each other — the Tesla Roadster, which is a sports car, and the Smart Fortwo, which is a compact economy car. Daimler actually invested a good deal in the company and now holds a 4.3% stake in Tesla.

Since then, of course, Tesla has released the Model S. And Mercedes-Benz is now preparing to release the B-Class electric vehicle. It, as well as the Smart Fortwo, utilize battery/motor technology from Tesla Motors.

“I told my guys, go back to Tesla and look for other opportunities” to work together, Bodo Uebber, Daimler’s chief financial officer, said at a recent press briefing. “We want to look for more cooperation.”

“We could use more” from Tesla, Uebber said, without providing specifics.

Tesla Model S at the IAA in Frankfurt. Image Credit: lexan / Shutterstock.com

I don’t blame Daimler for appreciating Tesla technology. After all, Tesla made the first production electric sports car (Roadster), and also the first luxury electric production car (Model S), plus the first electric luxury + sports car, and finally, all of those cars were even more efficient than some of the smallest gas-powered economy cars. Of course Daimler would be impressed by them!

Also, Mercedes-Benz is accustomed to designing cars for older, wealthy people, so they are new to the compact car market, in which customers are younger. As Reuters quoted Uebber as saying:

We are a late comer … [but] we need compact cars to get a broader, younger customer base.

Aside from its partnership with Daimler, Tesla also provides EV components to Toyota Motor Corp.

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Tags: B-Class, B-Klasse, daimler, Mercedes-Benz, smart fortwo, Tesla, Tesla Daimler, Tesla Mercedes

About the Author

Nicholas Brown writes on CleanTechnica, Gas2, Kleef&Co, and Green Building Elements. He has a keen interest in physics-intensive topics such as electricity generation, refrigeration and air conditioning technology, energy storage, and geography. His website is: Kompulsa.com.

Doug

The Tesla and the Smart are very different cars. I have driven both and the Smart line really should be scrapped…it’s really not a very good car.