Ola Källenius, the chairman of the board of management at Mercedes-Benz, charts a new greener and more luxurious course for the three-pointed star.
The new all-electric EQS with a 350-mile range represents the direction Ola Källenius is taking Mercedes-Benz as he transforms the company.
Charting his own course is nothing new for Ola Källenius, the charismatic chairman of the board of management at Mercedes-Benz. As the first non-German chairman of Daimler AG, Källenius is transforming Mercedes-Benz into a green, electric luxury car company. In the future, “Mercedes-Benz will concentrate on three product categories: top-end luxury, core luxury and entry luxury,” explains Källenius in an exclusive interview he granted to Modern Luxury. These segments include all vehicles from the Mercedes-AMG and Mercedes-Maybach brands, along with top-end models from Mercedes’ electric lineup, Mercedes-EQ; new limited-edition models; and exclusive collaboration vehicles like the Virgil Abloh Maybach.
The EQS’ MBUX Hyperscreen spans 56 inches of high-tech glass, putting everything right at your fingertips.
“In the future, you will see a Mercedes-Maybach EQS SUV, which will arrive to market next year,” says Källenius, noting other exciting products to come, which might even include a Mercedes-Maybach SL. The first all-electric G-Class SUV will also debut advanced battery cell chemistry from Sila Nanotechnologies, a company whose research into new battery technology was championed by Källenius with an early investment from Daimler AG.
A DC fast charger brings the EQS sedan from 10% to 80% charged in just 35 minutes.
The Swedish-born Källenius has a unique eye for leadership and talent, surrounding himself with a diverse group of executives in what was traditionally a male-dominated industry. “Every study shows that diverse teams perform better, you get better debate and have more ideas that come into the room,” says Källenius, who has been unafraid to make waves since becoming chairman of the board in 2015.
A sneak peek at the Mercedes-Maybach SL concept
In many ways, Källenius has transformed Mercedes-Benz from a traditional automotive manufacturer into more of a tech company. Mercedes-Benz has invested heavily in developing its own operating systems for its cars, dubbed MB.OS. “The Mercedes-Benz operating system will intelligently connect the vehicle with the cloud and the Internet of Things,” explains Källenius, who steadfastly guards the relationship between Mercedes-Benz and its customers, vowing never to hand over this task to third-party software developers as other luxury automakers have done.
Under the watch of Ola Källenius, Mercedes-Benz has transformed into a tech company focused on proprietary software and groundbreaking new electric vehicles.
The clearest example today of the direction Källenius is taking Mercedes-Benz can be seen in the new EQS fully electric luxury sedan. This four-door sedan offers an impressive 350 miles of range from its 107.8 kilowatt-hour battery. The EQS learns your face and will set the car to your preferences and puts an almost unimaginable amount of information at your fingertips through the MBUX Hyperscreen, which puts multiple screens under a 56-inch span of high-tech glass. But what’s perhaps most impressive is how the EQS drives; effortlessly powerful and serenely quiet, it feels like it just glides down the road. Look for the 2022 EQS at your Mercedes-Benz dealer now with a starting price of $102,310.
Photography by: PHOTOS COURTESY OF BRAND
