Mercedes-Benz Group is considering entering the armaments production sector, according to the company’s CEO, Ola Källenius, who spoke with the Wall Street Journal. Källenius emphasized, however, that any such move must be “economically sensible”.
The CEO stated that the world has become increasingly “unpredictable” stressing that Europe needs to boost its overall “defense capability”. Mercedes-Benz stated it would be willing to play a “positive role” in this direction. While the portion of defense business would only represent a minor percentage compared to their core automotive operations, the company views this as a potentially growing niche market capable of contributing to profits.
Volkswagen had previously announced similar plans. The automotive giant plans to decide this year whether it will manufacture military transport vehicles for the defense industry at its Osnabrück facility. Generally, the German auto industry is facing pressure due to increasing international competition and recent trade conflicts. In contrast, data from the Institute for Peace Research (Sipari) shows that the defense sector achieved new record revenues recently.
