[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ theme_builder_area=”post_content” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text module_class=”brand-names” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|700||on|||||” text_orientation=”center” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
INTERVIEW<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”article-title” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”|800|||||||” header_text_align=”center” header_font_size=”44px” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-byline” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_orientation=”center” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Colin Overland<\/b><\/span> Production editor [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/07\/1-1.jpg” title_text=”Portrait Ola K\u00e4llenius, Daimler AG” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”car-img-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Used to be in charge of Merc F1 engines; now drives an EV<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n There\u2019s no faking the glee<\/b> in the eyes of Mercedes boss Ola K\u00e4llenius when he lifts the fabric that\u2019s meant to be disguising the interior of the electric GLC he\u2019s driving me around Stuttgart in.<\/p>\n \u2018Steve Jobs once said design is not just how it looks \u2013 it\u2019s how it works. Here\u2019s a perfect example: this seat adjuster here is so intuitive. It\u2019s a work of art. Aesthetically, even if you know nothing about design, it feels right and it\u2019s beautiful to look at. We spent hours and hours and hours and hours on the detail.\u2019 <\/p>\n He\u2019s right. The controls mounted on the GLC\u2019s door, above the opening lever, are clearly derived from those that have been used in several generations of Mercs now, but have acquired an elegant new curviness that makes them look a little Art Deco. <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”car-pullquote-notac” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|800|||||||” text_font_size=”22px” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”||5px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n He\u2019s dealing with presidents and central bankers. But he still makes time to know all his products<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Even more exciting news for some people will be the welcome revelation that two of the most frequently used controls on the steering wheel will be knurled rollers, not fiddly haptic touchsliders.<\/p>\n It is, of course, the CEO\u2019s job to big up his cars, but this one\u2019s particularly close to his heart. \u2018They\u2019re very nice, and they have to be \u2013 my mother is driving one.\u2019 <\/p>\n K\u00e4llenius is one of the most powerful men in the world, but he really doesn\u2019t want to disappoint his mum. It\u2019s a light-hearted comment, but indicative of his attitude: never lose sight of the customers, and never lose sight of the company\u2019s values. <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/07\/4-1.jpg” title_text=”4″ align=”center” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n He\u2019s been at Mercedes for 32 years and has had the top job for six years. That involves dealing with presidents and chancellors, central bankers and safety commissioners. But he doesn\u2019t let that stop him staying close to the cars.<\/p>\n \u2018Even at the top of the company, the board and myself, we spend an enormous amount of time on product development. We drive the cars, we regularly test prototypes, we drive competitors\u2019 cars. In a product-driven company, it\u2019s about the cars. You MUST be part of that. It would be ridiculous to say that I sign things off, that\u2019s not how it works \u2013 it\u2019s the ultimate team sport and it\u2019s the engineers that do the work. But everyone on the board is on a first-name basis with every car that\u2019s launched. There\u2019s nothing that gets launched and it\u2019s a surprise, and I go \u201cOh, what did they do there?\u201d\u2019 <\/p>\n The GLC may be the company\u2019s biggest seller, but he\u2019s well aware that for significant numbers of people the traditional saloons and estates remain the company\u2019s defining vehicles. The electric GLC, set to be unveiled in its finished form at September\u2019s Munich show, will be closely followed by an electric C-Class, and a couple of years later an electric E-Class, both running parallel to combustion cars. It all sounds a long way removed from what the world thought was the plan: go full electric by the end of the decade, with the EQ prefix replacing long-cherished badges. <\/p>\n \u2018Where is the market [transition] today compared to where most people believed five years ago? In Europe and North America and some other markets it\u2019s definitely slower. In China it\u2019s faster for different reasons. For the foreseeable future, maybe the next 10 years, we think the market will be split. If you\u2019re faced with that, during that 10 years, maybe more, you have to have a portfolio that caters to both groups. To make that handle-able from an investment point of view and a complexity point of view, you need to have a very strong strategy.\u2019 <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”car-pullquote-notac” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|800|||||||” text_font_size=”22px” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”||5px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n The first non-German to run Mercedes is proudly internationalist in his outlook<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n That includes an increasingly modular approach to component sharing, and greater flexibility in the factories. \u2018We can build, on the same line, the icon product, the S-Class, and also the EQS \u2013 they\u2019re both on the same line. We have created that flexibility already and now we\u2019re profiting from it.\u2019<\/p>\n He continues: \u2018We\u2019re kind of ready for anything. I don\u2019t want to downplay the challenge. It is hard work. I\u2019ve been with this company 32 years and I\u2019ve never seen a situation where you have so many moving parts at the same time. And there are a few other things happening in the world, such as trade policies and other details impacting not only our industry but everything that is going on.\u2019 <\/p>\n Chauffering CAR<\/i> in the pre-production GLC, he\u2019s keen to mention that, like all future Mercs, it will be available with a full-width screen. \u2018One of my favourite features, and I have it today in my EQS SUV, is you can you put on that [passenger] side your personalised picture. I have in my car a photo of our summer house in Sweden. It\u2019s a happy place, and it makes the car that little bit more personalised.\u2019 <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/07\/3-1.jpg” title_text=”3″ align=”center” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Warming to his theme, he emphasises the importance of making Mercs easy to live with: \u2018We were the first ones to perfect rear-axle steering, with the S-Class and the EQS and so on. I live in Stuttgart in a very narrow street, where I always up until that point had to go back and forth, especially if someone has parked in an awkward position opposite my entrance. I can go in an S-Class and EQS in one go now.\u2019 <\/p>\n Safety remains hugely important. \u2018The ride and drive of a Mercedes needs to feel safe. It\u2019s performance, but it\u2019s a grown-up performance. It feels safe, you have this fantastic level of comfort, and at the same time the car feels tight. That is Mercedes engineering. We\u2019ve focused a lot on efficiency in this new generation of e-drivetrain. That whole [CLA EV] drivetrain is now transported into an SUV. Okay, the drag coefficient costs some range, but for an SUV it\u2019s very, very good. <\/p>\n \u2018This feeling that if you close your eyes, you know it\u2019s a Mercedes \u2013 that\u2019s from the quality of chassis tuning, the body integrity and the safety. I don\u2019t believe there\u2019s a car company in the world that comes close to crushing as many cars as Mercedes. And for every crash we do hundreds of thousands of simulations. <\/p>\n \u2018You\u2019re always looking for efficiencies, the better design, you never stop, we haven\u2019t stopped in 139 years. Those core values go back to Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz. Those two individuals changed the world.\u2019 <\/p>\n What does he think when he sees a Merc on the road? \u2018I feel a sense of pride. Working for Mercedes is more than a contract and a pay cheque at the end of the month.\u2019 <\/p>\n The Swede is the first non-German to run Mercedes, and is proudly internationalist in his outlook: \u2018We have a high sense of responsibility as a well established large industrial group, but for many decades now that goes well beyond the borders of this country or this region. We long ago replaced \u201cMade in Germany\u201d with \u201cMade by Mercedes-Benz\u201d. If you walk into one of our factories \u2013 and in my earlier career I was part of the team building up the SUV factory in Alabama \u2013 or walk into Beijing or East London or South Africa, you know it. We run the same standard everywhere. We want to be a good neighbour, not just in Sindelfingen, we want to be a good neighbour in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, everywhere. We integrate into the society in which we operate. You may be a global company but you also have a local profile.\u2019<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" INTERVIEWMerc’s secret weapon? The boss’s mumColin Overland Production editorUsed to be in charge of Merc F1 engines; now drives an EVThere\u2019s no faking the glee in the eyes of Mercedes boss Ola K\u00e4llenius when he lifts the fabric that\u2019s meant to be disguising the interior of the electric GLC he\u2019s driving me around Stuttgart in. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":2225,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"kschwarz","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/car\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/car\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/car\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/car\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/car\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2224"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/car\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2224\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2233,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/car\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2224\/revisions\/2233"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/car\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/car\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/car\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/car\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Merc’s secret weapon? The boss’s mum<\/h1>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n