Mercedes-Benz goes all-in on electric, kills the stick shift

The 2021 EQS will be the first of six all-new Mercedes-Benz models based on its new electric architecture. The cars mark a clear line in the sand as the three-pointed star brand is also said to be axing all manual transmissions and many pure ICE cars as it streamlines its business and attempts to become carbon-neutral.

The EQS–the electrified S-Class—sits on a modular platform that can be scaled to underpin electric cars of all shapes and sizes, as Mercedes is about to prove. The luxury EQS will offer a range of up to 430 miles on a charge and will be the flagship for this new wave.

An E-Class EQE will follow soon after, along with SUV versions of the EQE and EQS. Mercedes will then add two compact SUVs—the EQA and EQB. With the EQC SUV and EQV people-mover already on sale, the proton-powered Mercedes range will total eight vehicles.

Mercedes says that it wants to offer a carbon-neutral fleet within 20 years and for electric and hybrid cars to account for more than half its sales by the end of this decade. With that in mind, the company is said to be planning to kill off its few manual transmissions (none of which are currently on sale in the U.S.) and reduce the number of combustion engines. According to a report by Autocar, Mercedes’ R&D boss Markus Schäfer said, “We need to reduce complexity. Complexity adds costs. We’re going to reduce future products, reduce platforms substantially, combustion engines will be very dramatically reduced and we will eliminate the manual transmission.”

If it wasn’t already clear, the stick-shift, dinosaur-juice-powered Benz’s days are numbered.