Sharjah24 – Reuters: Daimler presented their new Mercedes EQE on Sunday (September 5), the first fully electric vehicle for the premium carmaker's high-performance AMG brand and a concept car for its luxury Maybach brand ahead of the Munich IAA car show opening.

As part of its plans to electrify its model range,the company also introduced a fully electric SUV, the EQG, to the European market.

In July Daimler said it will spend more than 40 billion euros ($47.5 billion) by 2030 to take on Tesla Inc in an all-electric market, but warned the shift in technology would lead to job cuts.

Outlining its strategy for an electric future, the German carmaker said it will build eight battery plants as it ramps up electric vehicle (EV) production and from 2025 all new vehicle platforms will only make EVs.

"The auto industry is in full transformation towards decarbonisation and also digitization of the product, but also the way we make the product," Daimler CEO Ola Kaellenius told Reuters ahead of the presentation.

"We look at this as an opportunity more than a challenge and this transformation we want to lead from the front," he added.

Kaellenius said the company's plan to spin off its trucking unit Daimler Trucks by the end of 2021 remains on track.

The IAA show is the first major motor industry event worldwide since the COVID-19 pandemic.