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Mercedes-AMG V8 “Quality Issue” Acknowledged

Last month, the peeps at Mercedes and the mad professors at AMG blamed the chip shortage for halting the sale of most V8-engined vehicles in the U.S. lineup. But curiously for the automaker responsible for “the best or nothing” catchphrase, those V8s are hindered by a quality issue.
Mercedes-AMG V8 engine 151 photos
Photo: Mercedes-AMG
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Philipp Schiemer didn’t pinpoint what’s the reason behind this problem. “We are updating our vehicles every year, and we are not satisfied with the quality.” Speaking to Road & Track, the head of the Top End Vehicle Group further stated that Merc is currently retesting the force-fed V8 powerplant.

In other words, the Stuttgart-based automaker prefers to bid farewell to a handful of sales instead of recalling vehicles over the mysterious quality issue. It’s the most sensible course of action, but nevertheless, this doesn’t explain why Mercedes has originally given the chip shortage as the reason.

Schiemer did sweeten the deal for prospective customers, highlighting that V8s will stick around for a decade or so. He cites the GT3 and GT4 racing cars - which use V8s - as well as the high demand for V8s in pretty much every corner of the globe. But nevertheless, Mercedes and the Affalterbach-based performance division have set a course for complete electrification.

All-new vehicle architectures will be exclusively electric from 2025 when three such platforms will be rolled out. These are the MB.EQ for medium to large vehicles, AMG.EA for performance vehicles, and VAN.EA for light commercial vehicles. Going forward, Merc intends to switch to all-electric vehicles in markets where this 180-degree turn is possible. Reading between the lines, certain European markets such as the UK, as well as the United States of America, may get their final taste of combustion-engined Mercs by 2030.

Over 40 billion euros, which translates to $47 billion at current exchange rates, will be committed to battery-electric vehicles from 2022 to 2030.
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Editor's note: Photo gallery shows 2020-present Mercedes-Benz S-Class W223.

About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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