VIENNA: The head of Mercedes-Benz’s classic car division believes cherished cars have a promising time ahead of them, despite the transition to electromobility and the phase-out of fossil fuels.
“Classics have a great future”, Marcus Breitschwerdt told the Swiss news website 20 Minutes when interviewed at classic car show The Ice in St. Moritz.
“For one thing, in times of change there will be many who want to hold on to the familiar and preserve the tried and tested. And for another, there is more and more prosperity in the world,” he said.
Amid looming combustion engine bans in some countries and the rise of electromobility, the future of classic cars, and their associated emissions and lower levels of fuel efficiency, is uncertain.
And yet “there is nothing more sustainable than a car that is passed on from generation to generation,” Breitschwerdt believes. “Because with every kilometre of mileage, the amount of CO2 caused by the production of a car becomes smaller.”
The expert said classic cars are rarely used in everyday life or driven over long distances and thus leave a smaller CO2 footprint than modern vehicles. “Moreover, e-fuels are a viable way to move classic cars more sustainably.”
Asked about which cars to buy on either a small or large budget, Breitschwerdt had this advice: “Buy the most recent or the oldest.”
“The former because, like the last generations of the Mercedes SL, the S-Class or even the C-Class, they are only at the very beginning of their value development and, on top of that, they also have a high degree of suitability for everyday use.
“And the latter because pre-war cars in particular are currently a little under the radar of collectors,” said Breitschwerdt.
“Owners are currently undergoing a generational change and supply currently exceeds demand.”
Keyword: 'Great future' ahead for classic cars, says top Mercedes manager