Mercedes drops more hints about sports cars going electric

Daimler is slowly pulling back the curtain on how its line of Mercedes-Benz sports cars will evolve as the leading luxury-vehicle maker goes electric.

CEO Ola Kallenius has dropped hints this month that Mercedes plans to challenge brands including crosstown rival Porsche by introducing plug-in performance models. He told German monthly Manager Magazin in an interview published Thursday that it’s very likely Mercedes will introduce a battery-electric platform for sports cars in the coming years.

“We have a very comprehensive product portfolio, including very attractive sports cars, and sports cars will go electric as well,” Harald Wilhelm, Daimler’s CFO, said Friday on Bloomberg Television. “So stay tuned.”

Tesla Inc. has popularized EVs in no small part by proving they’re capable of measuring up to or even outperforming sports cars. Porsche started selling its debut electric model, the Taycan, late last year.

Mercedes must electrify its sports cars both to compete for customers and comply with stricter emissions standards. Next year, the automaker will flank its flagship S-Class sedan with an all-electric sibling dubbed EQS. It will also deliver the Mercedes-AMG One, a plug-in hybrid supercar that adapts a 1,000-horsepower drivetrain used in Formula One cars for street use.