AMG Developing Second Hybrid Model, Mulls Full EV

A week after Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz unit confirmed plans for its first AMG-badged hybrid vehicle, AMG boss Tobias Moers says at least one more hybrid is in the works and that a future full electric model is likely too.

As part of announcing a new sub-brand for electrified vehicles last week at the Paris auto show, Mercedes showed a silhouette sketch of the high-powered hybrid that previously had been rumored. The limited-volume “hypercar” is expected to team a pair of electric motors with a twin-turbo version of Mercedes V-6 Formula One race engine.

The hybrid hypercar portends future performance models, Moers tells Drive. He says AMG is working on several electrification projects, including a second hybrid model, but he provided no details.

Moers also says the brand must make EVs part of its future survival. Following Tesla, Mercedes-AMG was one of the first to market a high-end EV when it launched the SLS AMG Electric Drive roadster in late 2012. But it hasn’t done anything more since then, while competitors such as Aston Martin, McLaren and Porsche have launched their own EVs or plan to do so soon.

Later this year, AMG will begin evaluating upcoming Mercedes EVs to determine the best ones from which to make an AMG model. But Moers says these vehicles won’t hit the road until sometime after 2020.

Mercedes, which previewed the EQ sub-brand with a concept crossover vehicle at the Paris auto show last week, plans to introduce 10 or more EVs by 2025. The rollout is due to start in 2019.