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Geely chairman is now the single biggest investor in Daimler

Li Shufu, the chairman and main owner of Chinese carmaker Geely, has built a stake of 9.69 percent in Daimler AG, the German carmaker said in a regulatory filing on Friday. The stake, worth nearly $9 billion at the current valuation for Daimler shares, makes Li the biggest single shareholder in the maker of Mercedes-Benz cars, trucks and vans headquartered in the German city of Stuttgart. A Daimler spokesman called the stake purchase a private investment by Li. "We are delighted, with Li Shufu, to have won over another long-term investor who is convinced of Daimler's innovative prowess, strategy and future potential," the spokesman said in response to a request for comment. "Daimler knows and respects Li Shufu as a Chinese entrepreneur of particular competence and forward thinking." Li's stake purchase makes him the top shareholder in Daimler ahead of the Kuwait Investment Authority, which owned 6.8 percent as of Sept. 30, according to Thomson Reuters data. Earlier this month, the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag reported that the Chinese industry giant was seeking to become Daimler's biggest shareholder, likely exceeding the 6.8-percent stake of the Kuwait Investment Authority. The paper said Daimler had reportedly turned down Geely's $4.5 billion offer for a 5-percent stake via a discounted share placement, saying that Geely could buy shares in the open market. Institutional investors currently own 70.7 percent of Daimler, and the company already has strong ties to Chinese automakers BAIC and BYD. Bild am Sonntag said the move was intended as a strategic alliance against Apple, Google and Amazon on autonomous and connected cars. And Reuters reported that Daimler wants to have bespoke "robo taxis" on the road quicker than Google's Waymo, and views Geely as a strong partner for that. Geely conversely is interested in Daimler's electric car battery technology, and sources quoted by the German paper say there are plans to establish joint electric car manufacturing in Wuhan, China, to meet China's smog-reducing quotas. Geely is developing the Lynk & Co. brand of electric and hybrid cars. Geely owns Volvo, which has enjoyed a renaissance under the arrangement, as well as the maker of London's black cabs. In December, it bought a stake in AB Volvo, the maker of Volvo trucks.

Mercedes testing C-Class plug-in hybrid modes in Germany

Testing appears to be underway for what would be the first Mercedes-Benz C-Class with a hybrid powertrain. We can see a pair of the prototypes undergoing testing in Germany, with one, a C-Class Wagon, still heavily clad in camouflage and featuring a more noticeable outlet on the passenger side of its rear bumper.
There's also a more production-looking sedan, which features a not-so-discreet flap over its rear-bumper outlet. It's difficult to speculate on power outputs for this fuel-sipping C-Class, although our spies seem to think that this car will feature some combination of a four-cylinder gas engine with an electric motor, although just which four is unclear (note, we wouldn't mind if MB fit its 2.0-liter turbo with some batteries and motors). Regardless, the four-pot/electric motor seems like a pretty reasonable combo, although it probably means that Mercedes won't be challenging the six-cylinder-powered system of the BMW ActiveHybrid3 any time soon.
When the plug-in C-Class arrives later this year as a 2015 model, it will likely offer a full range of driving modes, including both gas or electric, only, as well as a more traditional hybrid mode.

Mercedes-AMG GT S aggressively priced at $129,900*

Just a few days ago we brought you leaked information regarding pricing for Mercedes' new flagship supercar. Now the German automaker has confirmed that the new Mercedes-AMG GT S will indeed retail for $129,900 (*plus a $925 destination charge). That may seem like a big chunk of change, and by most standards it is. But it starts to fall into reasonable territory when you put it into context. For one thing, it's not the most expensive Mercedes – not by a long shot. The previous SLS AMG fetched around $200k, and most anything else at the top of the AMG range – like the S63, SL63, G63 or GL63 – will set you back more than the new GT S, and don't even get us started on anything with the V12 and the number 65. The new Maybach S600 will set you back nearly $190k, and that bonkers G63 6x6 goes for over half a million. As for its rivals, the pricing places the AMG GT S right on pace with the Porsche 911 GT3 (whose 475 horsepower the Benz neatly trumps with 503 hp) and a good $20k less than the more powerful 911 Turbo. It also comes closer to the $115,900 that Audi charges for an R8 with a V8 than the $153,900 it gets for the ten-cylinder version, although the Benz edges closer to the latter in terms of output. The pricing does make it a fair bit more expensive than even the top end of the Jaguar F-Type range, which (short of the Project 7 speedster) maxes out at under $100k for the R model. Contrary to its predecessor and the SLR that came before, however, Benz is wisely staying out of Ferrari/Lamborghini/McLaren territory this time around. In short, Mercedes has clearly weighed its pricing strategy carefully. But if $130k is still too rich for your blood, the less potent base Mercedes-AMG GT will follow in the spring of 2016 with less power (quoted at 456 hp) and with a list price that's yet to be announced but promises to be a fair bit lower. In the meantime, deliveries of the GT S are scheduled to commence in April of this year. MERCEDES-BENZ ANNOUNCES PRICING ON ALL-NEW MY2016 MERCEDES-AMG GT S New Sports Car to Start at $129,900* January 23, 2015 - MONTVALE, NJ With the new Mercedes-AMG GT model range, the Mercedes-AMG sports car brand is moving into a new segment. As the second sports car developed entirely in-house by Mercedes-AMG, the GT has everything you would expect from an authentic Mercedes-AMG, from the characteristic styling, thoroughbred motorsport technology to the optimum weight distribution.