00:00Electric vehicles are getting faster and more powerful, but the market may be getting numb to the numbers.
00:06Mercedes-AMG is betting performance drivers still want something more than speed, along with the launch of its new GT
00:15four-door coupe.
00:17Joining us now is Michael Sheba, head of Mercedes-AMG.
00:21And, Michael, great to have you on the program.
00:23My colleague Hannah Elliott was at this launch.
00:25I hear Brad Pitt may have been behind the wheel of that car.
00:28And it is shockingly fast, amazingly powerful.
00:33I think 1,153 horsepower, 1,475 pound-feet of torque.
00:38Is that enough to sell these vehicles?
00:40Do you have buyers?
00:42Hello.
00:43Good morning, Matt.
00:44Great to be here with you.
00:46Of course, you know, at AMG, at the heart of AMG, the power horse was always at the center of
00:54everything that we did.
00:55And with our electric AMG GT, we are now taking this to the next level.
01:02Actually, we are introducing a completely new category to the performance segment, which is the category of electric V8s.
01:11And so, definitely, we are observing the market.
01:14We have done thorough analysis on everything that's going on in the market.
01:19And this is why we also do many things different to our competitors.
01:24Just on that, because, except for Ferrari, maybe we can get into that in a moment, it is a luxury
01:29market that's pulled back from EVs, from BEVs.
01:32Why is your calculation different than your competitors?
01:35Why lean into this?
01:37First of all, it's very important to know that our strategy at Mercedes-AMG is based on two pillars.
01:43So, first of all, we will continue to further invest into our combustion engines.
01:49Actually, for two reasons.
01:50First of all, it's all about more and more performance.
01:53So, the engines shall be and stay and become even more exciting and incredible.
02:00And at the same time, of course, we want to make sure that they comply with the current and all
02:05upcoming regulations.
02:06So, our new V8 is about to be launched in the second half of this year.
02:11Furthermore, actually, we are rolling out our new six-cylinder engine to our combustion engine lineup.
02:18But at the same time, of course, we are doubling down on performance EVs.
02:23And here with the all-electric GT four-door coupe, this is the first proof point in our strategy.
02:30And with everything that we put into that technology monster, like our V8 mode, we said it's really, really convincing
02:39and appealing product offer.
02:41Because customers actually will not have to sacrifice anything.
02:45Rather, they will gain the exceptional performance that EVs deliver.
02:50But as emotional as our combustion engine cars have always been.
02:54I hear you saying that, but I have to say I find it hard to believe.
02:58And I'm driving a V8 every day, Michael.
03:02I have owned and loved a Mercedes V8.
03:04I'm very much looking forward to the flat plane crank that you're going to put out first in the S
03:09-Class and then in AMGs.
03:10But I like the vibrations.
03:13I want the sound.
03:14I like to build up the revs and shift gears.
03:17You know, the EVs I've driven so far haven't had that kind of heart and soul.
03:24Are you saying this is going to really replicate that?
03:28And definitely.
03:29And, you know, Matt, I think you have lived for a while in Germany and you have enjoyed the Autobahn,
03:34I guess.
03:35This is why we have taken a completely different approach to that AMG GT four-door coupe.
03:40Because this car has everything.
03:42It has the V8 sound.
03:44It has the vibrations.
03:46It has actually the gear shifts.
03:48So when you sit in that car and you drive it, it feels like a V8 on steroids.
03:53So it's like a high revving, fast gear shifting V8 powertrain, but it's electric.
04:00So actually, you need to drive it.
04:02And of course, you are more than invited for a test drive at one of our dealerships in the U
04:07.S. soon.
04:08I have definitely.
04:10So you need to experience it.
04:10I really want to, because, you know, all of that stuff makes a car for me.
04:15But I can see also how you would do it through suspension, through isolation, depending on which way you want
04:21to go.
04:22Do you have buyers for this car?
04:25I mean, have you already.
04:26Can you share with us maybe what your order book looks like?
04:30Actually, we have just had the sales release last week.
04:33But at least from all the messages that I received from the best of our customers around the world,
04:39actually, there seems to be a lot of excitement in the market.
04:43And now we are starting to getting the production ready to start the deliveries in the second half of this
04:48year.
04:48So we are very optimistic that this car will be a success in the market, not only in the U
04:54.S., but also in the rest of the world.
04:56Michael, just listening to the excitement you say that people have and contrasting that with Ferrari and the widely panned
05:04Luce,
05:04I mean, did they just mess this thing up?
05:06Is it that there is a market, but it's, I don't know, that you need to be more careful with
05:10design?
05:11What's the takeaway from this thing?
05:13I think questions about Ferrari are best answered by the team from Maranello.
05:16I think they have a great performance brand with an amazing heritage.
05:21And they have clearly chosen a different approach when it comes now to electric performance.
05:26But as head of AMG, let me focus actually on the all-new GT.
05:31That's a fair point.
05:32And I have to say that I have fallen in love with, well, the first GT, the SLS, and then
05:37the GT,
05:38and recently have driven the GT 63, the E4 performance version,
05:44which is, in my opinion, one of the most incredible releases of 2025.
05:51I'm just wondering if this new electric car is going to help you drive sales
05:56or if it's going to be more of a regulatory vehicle that's going to help you sell more cars,
06:04because you do sell a shockingly large amount of Mercedes' overall revenue.
06:10Yeah, you know, last year in the U.S., we sold more than 50,000 cars.
06:14And in our strategy, we definitely have a growth strategy here.
06:19Over the past three years, we have worked actually diligent on our strategy
06:24to reshape and focus our portfolio.
06:27Our plan is to sell roughly about 200,000 cars at the end of the year,
06:32coming from a little bit more than 140,000 AMGs last year.
06:36So our plan is definitely to grow.
06:39We have taken many, many decisions.
06:42All the products are now in the making, and you just need to stay tuned
06:47because we are going to launch more than 27 cars in the next 36 months,
06:53only for Mercedes-AMG.
06:55All right, I'm going to be looking.
06:56So there is a lot of interesting cars to come.
06:59But here, actually, as I said before, combustion engines and electric cars, everything.
07:05So our customers can decide whatever they want.
07:08Well, I'm definitely going to be looking forward to it.
07:11Michael, as you may know, Hannah Elliott actually picked the GT63.
07:15It's the GT63 S Performance.
07:18There are a lot of letters and numbers there.
07:19But she picked it as her favorite car of the year,
07:22and she reviews cars for us at Bloomberg Pursuits.
07:25so there are a lot of letters.
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