Brand shapers
THE OTHER KEY M-B MEN WITH FINGERS ON THE DATA PULSE
View from the top
Daimler’s head of group research and development, Ola Källenius, is earmarked to replace Dieter Zetsche as the company’s CEO. He’s also the former head of AMG and is at pains to point out that there are still plenty of performance options within the Mercedes-benz portfolio, with more to come thanks to Formula One-style hybrid technology.
“Let’s not talk cylinders so much,” he says. “I mean, the V8 will be there for many years to come, and the V12 is still there as well. What the customer wants is a level of performance. If you buy an AMG, depending on which one you get, you’re expecting a certain performance experience.”
Källenius goes on to say that how that performance is delivered is becoming less relevant for the customer, as long as the company can continue to deliver it while meeting increasingly tough CO2 restrictions. What that’s likely to mean is greater use of EQ Boost technologies and hybrid systems.
Design central
Gorden Wagener is the chief design officer of Daimler and, as the man behind the aesthetic of the brand, he needs to manage the expectations of current customers as well as people who aren’t even thinking about owning a car any more.
“Eventually we will see autonomous cars running through urban metro areas, but there will be still enough people out there who can afford a car, and maybe don’t want to share their car,” he says. “So it’s important to make a personal autonomous vehicle attractive because it’s your car; it should still be luxury. Therefore, it has to have an appealing style, because that will differentiate it from the mainstream.” Thankfully, though, Wagener still has petrol running through his stylus. “With all the [talk of] hybrid, electric and autonomous cars, we must not forget that driving is fun, and I love driving,” he grins. “I love my GT. Driving is fun, and I love the sound of my V8!”