Next Milestone Ambition 2039: The global Mercedes-Benz supply chain is becoming CO2 neutral

• Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG; responsible for Daimler Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars COO: “With the electric EQS luxury sedan, which is already in the starting blocks for next year, we have already achieved important milestones in close cooperation with our partners – for example by purchasing CO₂ neutrally produced battery cells. We are consequently pursuing this path: When awarding contracts for our subsequent electric vehicle platform – Mercedes-Benz Modular Architecture (MMA) for compact and medium-sized cars- we are already applying CO₂ as a key criterion for the first time consistently.”
• Gunnar Güthenke, Head of Procurement and Supplier Quality, Mercedes-Benz Cars: “Almost half of our approximately 2000 suppliers have signed an ‘Ambition Letter of Intent’ and are committed to supplying us with only CO₂ neutral parts in the future. These companies account for more than half of the annual purchasing value of Mercedes-Benz AG.”

Stuttgart, Germany.  With Ambition 2039 Mercedes-Benz wants to offer a CO₂ neutral new car fleet in less than 20 years. The transformation to electric mobility in particular increases the energy demand in the supply chain. Compared to a conventional combustion engine, the production of an all-electric vehicle is twice as CO₂ intensive, mainly because of the lithium-ion batteries. Despite a higher energy demand in production, Mercedes-Benz plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles offer a clear advantage in terms of CO₂ emissions compared to conventional drives already today, since only when the entire life cycle of the vehicles is considered a realistic picture emerges: Electric vehicles can make up for a large part of the initially higher CO₂ emissions from the upstream value chain due to their emission-free driving. This is where Mercedes-Benz comes in and works with the global supplier network to reduce CO₂ emissions in the production phase.

Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG; responsible for Daimler Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars COO: “Electric mobility and sustainability go hand in hand for Mercedes-Benz. With the electric EQS luxury sedan, which is already in the starting blocks for next year, we have already achieved important milestones in close cooperation with our partners – for example by purchasing CO₂ neutrally produced battery cells. We are consequently pursuing this path: When awarding contracts for our subsequent electric vehicle platform – Mercedes-Benz Modular Architecture (MMA) for compact and medium-sized cars – we are already applying CO₂ as a key criterion for the first time consistently.”

Key criterion for supplier selection

“Together with our partners, we are implementing the Mercedes-Benz Ambition 2039. Almost half of our approximately 2000 suppliers have signed an ‘Ambition Letter of Intent’ and are committed to supplying us with only CO₂ neutral parts in the future. These companies account for more than half of the annual purchasing volume of Mercedes-Benz AG. This is an important proof point on the way to achieving our climate goals: our supplier network has also recognised the signs of the times, and is following the transformation. We place an additional focus on particularly CO₂-intensive components and materials such as battery cells,” says Gunnar Güthenke, Head of Procurement and Supplier Quality, Mercedes-Benz Cars. “We are also in the process of setting up a tracking system that will enable us to see how CO₂ emissions are reduced over time.” The company is in close dialogue with all other suppliers to jointly develop strategies for CO₂ reduction.