German luxury takes different roads to EV future

The German luxury industry is hurtling down the electrification autobahn.

Mercedes-Benz, BMW Group and Audi are pivoting their lineups toward electric vehicles as they chase tightening emissions targets globally. But the pace of change varies by automaker.

Mercedes is the most aggressive brand, vowing to go all-electric globally by 2030. From 2025 forward, every new product architecture will be electric-only, the company said.

Mercedes is expanding its U.S. portfolio of battery-powered crossovers and sedans with zero-emission versions of its CLA coupe and GLC crossover.

But Mercedes acknowledges that the pace of EV adoption will be uneven worldwide. The brand expects electric vehicles to account for 40 percent of its new-vehicle sales in the U.S. by 2026 and 70 percent by 2030.

For the first half of the year, battery-electric vehicles accounted for about 7 percent of new-vehicle sales in the U.S., according to Guidehouse Insights. The consulting firm expects that share to grow to at least 27 percent by 2030.

BMW is taking a more cautious approach, estimating that about half of its global sales will be fully electric by the start of the next decade.

During the next four years, BMW will redesign and freshen its combustion engine and hybrid moneymakers while launching a fleet of battery-powered sedans and crossovers on a new all-electric architecture it calls Neue Klasse.

"If you want to be resilient, you have to be flexible," BMW CEO Oliver Zipse said. "We think the infrastructure will not move as fast as market demand."

BMW's EV offensive in the U.S. surges in 2026 with several X-line battery-powered crossovers plan-ned. The automaker will produce many of them in Greer, S.C., where it is investing $1.7 billion to produce at least six battery-powered crossovers.

BMW's small car brand Mini views electrification as the path to renewed relevance. A battery-powered Countryman will be the first of several new electric Minis globally starting next year. Two China- made EVs — a small crossover and a Cooper SE replacement — will come to market next year, but Mini has not confirmed them for the U.S.

Audi, meanwhile, is not only rolling out an aggressive electrification transformation during the next few years but clearing up its vehicle nomenclature in the process to delineate between internal combustion-powered and electric vehicles. The brand will retain its Q designation for crossovers and A for cars, but it will designate EVs with even numbers and combustion-powered vehicles with odd numbers. That will mean, for example, that when the A6 E-tron EV debuts in 2025, the current A6 will be renumbered as an A7.

Larry P. Vellequette contributed to this report.