Mercedes-Benz Sets 2049 Net-Zero Goal and Revises 2039 Emissions Targets

Mercedes-Benz has replaced its earlier 2039 carbon-neutrality ambition for new passenger cars with separate emissions milestones for production, vehicle use and the wider value chain. It has also set a 2049 net-zero target. The revised goals put clearer numbers on different parts of the company’s footprint, while making its vehicle-use ambition conditional on market conditions.

Separate milestones for 2039

Against a 2019 baseline, Mercedes-Benz now aims to cut production emissions by 90% and use-phase emissions by 80% by 2039, with the latter goal applying “as market conditions allow.” Across all relevant stages of its value chain, the company targets an overall CO2 reduction of 70% by that year.

These figures describe distinct parts of the emissions challenge. Production covers the company’s manufacturing activity; use-phase emissions arise while vehicles are driven. The value-chain measure extends across the stages connected to making and using its products. The targets therefore give a more specific picture of where reductions are expected, though the company’s 2039 ambition for vehicle use now includes an explicit condition.

That qualification matters because vehicle-use emissions depend in part on how quickly customers adopt electric vehicles and on the conditions that shape their use. Mercedes-Benz’s earlier Ambition 2039 goal, introduced in 2019, aimed to make its new passenger-car fleet net carbon neutral across the vehicle lifecycle and value chain by 2039. The updated goals instead distinguish between reductions in production, use and the value chain as a whole.

Net zero across the value chain by 2049

The separate 2049 goal calls for at least a 90% cut in CO2 emissions across all relevant value-chain stages. Mercedes-Benz says the remaining 10% is to be neutralized permanently. This longer-term target sets out how the company intends to address emissions that remain after the planned reductions, while the 2039 milestones mark an earlier stage in that effort.

The two dates offer different measures of progress: the 2039 targets specify reductions in several emissions categories, while the 2049 target sets a higher reduction threshold across relevant value-chain stages and describes how residual emissions are to be handled. The company’s results will depend on progress in its own production as well as changes in vehicle use and materials supply.

Electrification and materials supply

Mercedes-Benz identifies electrification, renewable energy in production, and lower-carbon and circular materials as central areas for reducing emissions. These efforts reach beyond vehicle assembly. The materials used in vehicles and the energy consumed to produce them both affect the footprint associated with the company’s products.

For aluminum, the company has joined the Aluminum Sector of the First Movers Coalition. It plans to source at least 10% of its annual primary aluminum demand in line with the coalition’s criteria by 2030. It has also signed an offtake agreement with Hydro for aluminum produced using electrolysis powered by renewable energy. Separately, an agreement with HyIron is intended to help scale up lower-carbon steelmaking.

These supply agreements address emissions tied to key industrial materials. Their practical contribution will depend on how much qualifying aluminum and lower-carbon steel the company can obtain and use as its needs change. Mercedes-Benz has not supplied a quantified emissions reduction for these initiatives in the announced targets, so their effect is not directly comparable with the 2039 percentage goals.

A narrower sustainability framework

The emissions revisions accompany a reorganization of Mercedes-Benz’s sustainability strategy, from six areas set out in a 2024 update to four: Decarbonization, Circularity, Safety and People. Decarbonization covers operations and the value chain, including electrification, suppliers, logistics and production.

Circularity focuses on reducing resource consumption as the company grows and increasing the share of secondary raw materials. Mercedes-Benz aims for secondary materials to reach 40% within the next decade. Safety combines the company’s previous work on traffic safety and digital trust. People brings together its focus on employees and human rights across product value chains.

Olaf Schick, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG responsible for Integrity, Governance and Sustainability, said the revised milestones are intended to make the company’s decarbonization pathway more measurable and operational. The key test will be whether progress across production, vehicle use and materials supply adds up to the stated reductions. The 2039 targets provide the next major checkpoint, with the use-phase goal carrying a condition that leaves its pace dependent on market conditions.