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Daimler CEO says nobody is making money on EVs right now

What do you charge for a vehicle you're going to lose money on? If you're Mercedes-Benz and the vehicle in question is the B-Class Electric Drive, you offer it for lease for just 399 euros ($498) a month with a down payment of 8,473 euros ($10,582). If Daimler was going to price it honestly, it seems, the number would have to be a lot higher. "Nobody today is making a battery-powered vehicle that's economically viable." – Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche That's according to Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche, who spoke to reporters in Spain recently and said that, "You can reasonably say that nobody today is making a battery-powered vehicle that's economically viable in its own right. Manufacturers will not see a return within a reasonable time on the billions they're investing now." There are ways to make money in EVs, of course. Just ask Daimler, which recently sold its stake in Tesla for a cool $780 million. Zetsche has some EV-critical company in executives like Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne, who has said his company loses over $10,000 on each Fiat 500E it sells. Other automakers – e.g., Tesla, Nissan – are much more positive about their financial bet on EVs, but no one is opening all their books to the public to prove this. Tesla, which worked with Mercedes on the B-Class ED, will have an earnings call with investors later today, so perhaps we'll learn something new in a few hours. The B-Class ED lease deal is for 36 months, based on an MSRP of 39,151 euros ($48,895) in Europe, including the 19 percent VAT. You can read more in the press release below. Commercial release of Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive: Local emission-free driving from ˆ399/month Stuttgart, Nov 03, 2014 With its high-torque electric motor, the B-Class Electric Drive delivers lively and superior driving pleasure – with zero local emissions. The B-Class Electric Drive is now available to order, with deliveries set to start before the end of 2014. Prices start at ˆ39,151[1]. The B-Class Electric Drive can be leased through the Mercedes-Benz Bank from ˆ399 a month[2]. Further information on the full range of tailor-made leasing and financing offers as well as specific pricing examples are available at http://www.mercedes-benz-bank.de. Quiet and local emission-free driving is ensured by a 132 kW electric motor, which, as is typical of an electric drive, delivers its maximum torque of 340 Nm right from the start. The result is noticeably powerful acceleration from rest.

Editors' Choice: Top Five 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show Debuts

Consider the 2015-16 auto show season officially kicked off. The Frankfurt Motor Show offered a great look at the newest crop of production cars and conceptual machines, and brought some old favorites back into the spotlight for a closer look. (The Alfa Romeo Giulia, for example, debuted in June, but this was the first time most of us saw it.) Now that the dust has settled and we're all on flights back to the US, our editors cast their votes for their personal favorites from the Frankfurt show. These are the cars we truly loved seeing the most. But unlike other shows, there was no one runaway winner – all of the Top Five received positive praise from our team. We won't spoil the results, though. Scroll down to see what we liked most from this year's Frankfurt expo. 5th Place – MERCEDES-BENZ IAA CONCEPT View 12 Photos MIKE AUSTIN: The clean lines on this concept have me excited for a more elegant beauty to future Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Next to the Concept IAA, the lovely S-Class Coupe looks like an overstyled barge. DAVID GLUCKMAN: Yeah, the extendable rear is neat and all, but I'm more interested in the front-end styling of this one. It looks like the Tron version of a 300SL, in a good way. I'm hopeful it portends the future of Mercedes design. STEVEN EWING: I was super impressed when Mercedes said that, with the rear end extended, this concept has a drag coefficient of just 0.19. That's crazy aerodynamic. I'm not head-over-heels about the styling, but I think the lessons learned from this concept are really important, and will play a huge role in the future of Mercedes' products. 4th Place – ALFA ROMEO GIULIA View 15 Photos SEYTH MIERSMA: I can hardly express how in love with this car I am. The styling feels creative, modern, and evocative, without going over the top. The proposed performance is spectacular. And the Alfa badge speaks to a legacy of romantic motoring. DAVID GLUCKMAN: Pretty Italian car makes big promises and will probably deliver on about three quarters of them. I think that will still be enough for me. JEREMY KORZENIEWSKI: I'm really intrigued by the Giulia. It looks great, sounds awesome, and I'm expecting it to have a load more character than its German rivals. I hope I'm not disappointed. 3rd Place – JAGUAR F-PACE View 15 Photos GREG MIGLIORE: It's the first SUV for Jaguar, and I think they nailed the design, capability, and electronics. It's the right car at the right time.

Driving the Kia K5 and Mini Cooper JCW GP, plus an interview with Jimmy Chin | Autoblog Podcast #637

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder and News Editor Joel Stocksdale. They veer off right away into talking about their dream project garages. Next up is news, including some info on the next Nissan Z car, the Honda Fit being discontinued in the U.S., new Mercedes-Benz EQS details, and some talk about the new, electric GMC Hummer being adapted for the military. Then they talk about driving the new Kia K5 sedan and the Mini Cooper JCW GP, before they opine about the 1966 Pontiac GTO. Autoblog Senior Producer Chris McGraw interviews Oscar-winning filmmaker Jimmy Chin about his collaboration with Ford for the Bronco reveal, and more. Finally, our editors help a listener in the U.K. pick a used vehicle in the "Spend My Money" segment. Autoblog Podcast #637 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Some thoughts on project cars News Nissan suggests the next-generation Z won't be electrified at launch Fit Is Gone! Honda drops subcompact hatch in U.S. Mercedes-Benz announces the electric EQS will offer over 435 miles of range GMC's electric Hummer could someday serve alongside the Humvee in the U.S. Army Driving the 2021 Kia K5 Driving the 2020 Mini Cooper JCW GP 1966 Pontiac GTO: Love it or hate it? We talk Ford Bronco and other adventures with Oscar-winning filmmaker Jimmy Chin Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: