Jacky Naegelen/Reuters
Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler and Head of Mercedes-Benz, poses in front of a Mercedes EQ Electric car on media day at the Mondial de l'Automobile, the Paris auto show, in Paris, France, September 29, 2016.
Mercedes' head said that the German automaker plans to overtake Tesla as the top premium electric car maker in less than 10 years.
Last week, Mercedes revealed its new electric car brand called EQ. It also unveiled its new Generation EQ concept car, which is a fully-electric SUV that will have a range of more than 300 miles per charge and go into production in 2019.
After the unveiling, Mercedes CEO Dieter Zetsche said in a Bloomberg interview that Tesla was the key competitor in the luxury electric car market, but said that Mercedes plans to become the leader in the space in less than a decade.
"We have set for ourselves a target five years ago... to become the number one car premium manufacturer. That was supposed to be reached in 2020, but it seems that we are awful close already," Zetsche said.
"So we can set a new target to ourselves and that is equally to be the leader in electric premium vehicles as well... this includes not just our current competitors, but new entries as well, including Tesla," he said.
Zetsche said that Mercedes aims to establish itself as the leader in the premium electric car space by 2025 at the latest, at which time the company will have at least 10 electric cars for sale.
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By then, Mercedes will have more competitors than just Tesla. Numerous luxury car makers have committed to producing battery-powered vehicles in the near future.
Audi, Porsche, Volvo, and other automakers are all planning on launching all-electric cars with a range of 200 miles or more by 2020. BMW is also planning to add at least two fully electric cars to its lineup within the same time frame.
Mercedes definitely has its work cut out, but Zetsche said during the company press event last week at the Paris Motor Show that the company is sticking to its guns and aims for electric cars to make up 15% to 25% of global sales by 2025.
Listen to Zetsche's full remarks during the Bloomberg interview in the video below.