The latest supercar from the former trainer and current armed arm of Mercedes, AMGit has been a puzzle to make an F1 engine usable in a street car. For your next supercara new challenge awaits AMG: convincing its regular customers that a electric car It can be very exciting.
“It is clear that we are going to be totally electric,” he declared. Michael SchiebeCEO of AMG, to Autocar. For AMG’s regular clientele, accustomed to some of the most powerful and loudest engines on the planet, especially their V8s, it might be a hard thing to accept. Schiebe agrees, but according to him, The important thing in an AMG is not its engine but its technology.
The important thing is technology, or so they say
“Customers who came to the brand for the V8 didn’t do so just because they wanted a great engine,” says Schiebe. “They came because they loved the technology that we incorporate into the car. So when electric driving comes, I’m pretty sure they’re going to jump on that new technology because it’s going to be the latest and greatest you can get.”
It is to be hoped that Schiebe’s teams know the brand’s clientele better than yours truly, but it is hard to believe that the majority of AMG customers do not care about the type of engine. From the 4-cylinder of the AMG A 45S to the now legendary 4.4-liter biturbo V8, the engines manufactured by hand by a single operator (philosophy “one person, one engine”) and who signs all his creations, these blocks contribute something intangible to these cars and that is part of their appeal: character.
It could also be argued that the AMG’s reason for being is gasoline engines. They even have a crankshaft in their logo and the history of the brand is full of V8s that have marked several generations of fans, from their founding car, the “red pig”, a Mercedes 300 SEL 6.8, to the Mercedes SLS, the first 100% AMG supercar, passing through the legendary Mercedes 300 CE ‘Hammer’. However, it is not a valid argument. Toyota started out making looms and they have done well making cars.
No, what makes us doubt are the sales of AMG’s previous electric or electrified proposals. First was the 550 kW (750 HP) Mercedes SLS AMG Electric Drive with a 60 kWh battery. They had to manufacture 50 units, finally they have only managed sell nine units. It is true that the more than 415,000 euros they were asking for the car did not help. But they fell far short of their forecasts.
And more recently, the Mercedes-AMG C 63 SE Performance animated by a 4-cylinder PHEV is not being the commercial success that its predecessors were, all animated by distinguished six cylinders (C 36 and C 32) or brutal V8, as in the C 63. Apparently the demand for this model is so low that Mercedes AMG itself is looking for a way to put a V8 back in the car to recover sales.
A single mechanic assembles an AMG engine by hand from scratch. And every engine he has built is signed by him.
Some company sources They talk about “the mandated by the C 63 S E-Performance is currently, to a large extent and constantly, close to zero”. It is true that this AMG is, on average, about 14,000 euros more expensive than a BMW M3, but it is a difference less than what is usually spent on options at this level of range, so it is not enough to explain the lack of interest of the clientele.
As for electric cars from Mercedes and AMG, demand is equally ridiculously low. Currently there are up to 69 Mercedes EQS sedans for sale on the most famous second-hand portal in Spain (a model that loses value like ice cream melts in the sun) and SUVs for sale, of which the vast majority have less than 10,000 km and 42 have less than 5,000 km. And all of them for sale by Mercedes dealers. Hello, self-registrations.
Logically, Schiebe can’t say that “yes, AMG customers want a great gasoline engine in their cars, one that’s powerful enough to rip the skin off your face with every acceleration and roars like a pissed-off T-Rex, but the board of directors says that I have to sell electrics. That’s it, friend”. It’s also your job as CEO to sell the changes that are coming.
The question is not so much whether AMG will manage to make that 180-degree turn, because its products, electrified or not, are still excellent, but whether the clientele will follow.
Source: www.motorpasion.com
