Daimler ends partnership with Tesla

[LST]

According to several news-streams Daimler is endig its partnership with Tesla and will produce its Mercedes B-Class EV without the components from Tesla.

I hope this means Daimler is trying to get serious about EV's and not the contrary.

 

[YBT]

For Daimler Tesla is like that nice stranger that asks you for a nickel. You place it in his hand and years later you see him driving down the street in an Aventador with your significant other riding shotgun.

What Daimler and all manufacturers wanted was for EV's to remain an ultra small niche of the market for the next few decades until they could gradually steer the ship away from ICE. And then along comes the new guy and within 2 -3 years your flagship product is being outsold in its own class (in certain markets, at least) - ouch!

So they've cut ties and begun to in-house EV R&D - good. Tesla was started, not to gain revenue from supplying parts & technology to other automakers, but to accelerate the transition to sustainable energy. This looks very much like that.

Congrats to Elon and his team :smile:

 

[Chickenlittle]

According to several news-streams Daimler is endig its partnership with Tesla and will produce its Mercedes B-Class EV without the components from Tesla.

I hope this means Daimler is trying to get serious about EV's and not the contrary.

I thought this happened a year ago?

 

[LST]

I thought this happened a year ago?

Daimler sold their holdings in TSLA (last year), but were still in business for the B-Class EV, which has been ended (or will be ended soon). As for the parts Tesla is sourcing from Daimler, i have not found any information if there will be changes as well. I guess this will continue for some time.

 

[Spidy]

For Daimler Tesla is like that nice stranger that asks you for a nickel. You place it in his hand and years later you see him driving down the street in an Aventador with your significant other riding shotgun.

What Daimler and all manufacturers wanted was for EV's to remain an ultra small niche of the market for the next few decades until they could gradually steer the ship away from ICE. And then along comes the new guy and within 2 -3 years your flagship product is being outsold in its own class (in certain markets, at least) - ouch!

So they've cut ties and begun to in-house EV R&D - good. Tesla was started, not to gain revenue from supplying parts & technology to other automakers, but to accelerate the transition to sustainable energy. This looks very much like that.

Congrats to Elon and his team :smile:

You are ignoring government regulations that already force companies in that direction if they want or not...

 

[FlatSix911]

The current generation Mercedes B has been a very poor sales performer ... Monthly Plug-In Sales Scorecard

Mercedes-Benz B-Class ED (or B250e now if you will):

The Mercedes B-Class, now officially known as the B250e for 2016, continued to be sold in February…which is about as positive as we can be for the model, as just 37 were sold.

Another way to put it would be, February was the worst selling month for the newly named all-electric car since it went on sales in July of 2014
The B-Class has a bit of a rough go since its entry to the US. The original model year run (2014) was extremely short, the 2015 edition came late and without much fanfare or inventory, and the 2016 edition was hit early with a stop sale (which has now been resolved) order last Fall.
It appears now that Mercedes has decided to make the B-Class a limited offering in the US until a new, longer range model arrives in the future (more on that below), as national inventories struggle to stay above the 3 -digit level.
—
Last Fall we also heard news (via a normally very reliable source) that Mercedes was about to get serious with the B-Class ED, giving it an estimated 300 mile (NEDC) ~225 mile EPA range upgrade in next generation trim, while also removing the Tesla drivetrain/components to bring costs down. It seems as though the B-Class ED may be one of the “ones to watch” heading into the 2nd generation wars in a couple year’s time.

 

[gordo]

I wonder if that means Tesla will have to find another supplier for the steering wheel and other bits of interior MB hardware...

 

[HookBill]

No surprise here. All children eventually are weaned off of their mother's milk and eat on their own.

 

[EcoHeliGuy]

I wonder if that means Tesla will have to find another supplier for the steering wheel and other bits of interior MB hardware...

I doubt it. Also the MB steering column was used on the gen 2 platform. Gen 3 being different geometry will probably get a different column and possible in house like other aspects.

I think Tesla used MB parts to simplify production and why reinvent the wheel (ha ha) but the longer they go as a brand the less they will need to borrow some components.

 

[Grendal]

I think Tesla used MB parts to simplify production and why reinvent the wheel (ha ha) but the longer they go as a brand the less they will need to borrow some components.

I think there was also a little bit of "I'll scratch your back, if you scratch mine" to buying the parts from MB. Tesla had a Daimler person on their BOD up until last year when Daimler sold all their holdings in the company. I agree, Elon likes "in house parts" and will go that way as much as possible.

Side comment: Daimler could have made a LOT more money off the Tesla investment if they hadn't sold a lot of it in early 2012. I calculated it a while back at $800 million more. I don't remember what the stock price was when I did that. I know it wasn't near its highest point. No matter what, the Daimler investment was a windfall for them.

 

[ggr]

This is old news: originally announced at least last August.

I'm not sure that Daimler actually makes the steering wheel stuff either. Yes, they are the same controls, but I have a feeling that they just both purchase from the same supplier. Tesla has to get them from somewhere. So does Daimler.

 

[Grendal]

This is old news: originally announced at least last August.

I'm not sure that Daimler actually makes the steering wheel stuff either. Yes, they are the same controls, but I have a feeling that they just both purchase from the same supplier. Tesla has to get them from somewhere. So does Daimler.

Excellent point and probably correct. Before the Model S was a success, Tesla would have needed any support it could get from a big name and access to a good supplier. This is probably just one of the many things they gained from working with Daimler.

 

[igotzzoom]

I wonder if that means Tesla will have to find another supplier for the steering wheel and other bits of interior MB hardware...

Those parts probably weren't actually manufactured by Daimler itself, but rather a third-party supplier. Probably Huf, Continental, Siemens or Bosch. They'll sell to anyone.

 

[RobStark]

Those parts probably weren't actually manufactured by Daimler itself, but rather a third-party supplier. Probably Huf, Continental, Siemens or Bosch. They'll sell to anyone.

Mercedes recently spun off this business. I forget the name. I think it is two names. One starts with H the other L.

- - - Updated - - -

You are ignoring government regulations that already force companies in that direction if they want or not...

You are forgetting that,in the past, the legacy automakers would continually get those regulations postponed,altered or eliminated because the technology was not ready, they could not make money at the specifications customers demanded at the prices customers were willing to pay, because the infrastructure was not ready etc etc etc.

Tesla lays waste to all those BS arguments.

 

[3s-a-charm]

No surprise here. All children eventually are weaned off of their mother's milk and eat on their own.

Some mothers eat their babies... just saying.

 

[doug]

No surprise here. All children eventually are weaned off of their mother's milk and eat on their own.

Some mothers eat their babies... just saying.

I had assumed Daimler was supposed to be the mother in that weaning analogy. According to Elon, it was Daimler's investment that saved the company.

 

[EcoHeliGuy]

Over on there rebuild tread for the salt water submerged tesla, the steering column still has a Mercedes label

 

[FlatSix911]

Over on there rebuild tread for the salt water submerged tesla, the steering column still has a Mercedes label

 

[PRJIM]

If you visit the B-Class Electric forums there are a lot of issues with that vehicle. A lot of it seems to be related to the Tesla powertrain bits ala Rav4EV. This is probably the reason why they moved away.

 

[Grendal]

If you visit the B-Class Electric forums there are a lot of issues with that vehicle. A lot of it seems to be related to the Tesla powertrain bits ala Rav4EV. This is probably the reason why they moved away.

Daimler got what they wanted from MB B-class electric. That was ZEV credits so they could sell more of their gas cars. It was a compliance car.

They also got 20 to 30 times return on their $50 million investment money.