On 10 November Mercedes-Benz published an update to its climate plan from Sindelfingen. The headline numbers are cuts against 2019 levels by 2039: 90% less CO2 from its own production, 70% less across the relevant stages of the value chain, and 80% less from the use of its vehicles, a figure the company ties to market conditions allowing it. Two supply-chain announcements came with it, one on aluminium and one on steel, and the steel one starts at a mine in South Africa.

The 2039 targets and the net-zero date

Mercedes-Benz also says it will keep cutting after 2039 and aim for net zero in the following decade, defined as at least a 90% cut on 2019 with the remainder permanently neutralised. Its release gives no year. Automotive World and Just Auto describe it as the 2040s, while ESG Today calls it a 2049 target. We've left the year out and gone with the decade.

ESG Today also reports the reasons behind the reset: slower electric-car uptake, US policy changes and the European Commission's move to soften the 2035 requirement for new cars. The company's own release doesn't spell those out, so treat them as that outlet's reading. The release does say the company is narrowing its sustainability priorities to four from 2027: decarbonisation, circular economy, safety and people.

On the energy side, the company says renewables now supply 51% of the energy used at its car plants and 39% at its vans sites, and that all electricity it buys from outside is renewable. It also points to a 140 MW wind project at its Papenburg test track, due to start generating by mid-2027.

Aluminium from Hydro

The aluminium deal is a binding, long-term contract with Hydro covering at least 10% of Mercedes-Benz's primary aluminium demand, with supply running from 2026 to beyond 2030. Hydro's metal is made by electrolysis on renewable power and currently carries about 4.0 kg of CO2 equivalent per kilogram, against a global average the release puts at 14.4. The contract sets 3.5 by 2028 and 3.0 by 2030.

Mercedes-Benz has also joined the aluminium sector of the First Movers Coalition, promising to buy at least 10% of its annual primary aluminium under the coalition's criteria by 2030. From 2027 it plans to use Hydro CIRCAL, which contains at least 75% recycled post-consumer scrap and has a footprint of no more than 2.0, in its next large electric models.

The steel pilot and the Sishen mine

The South African part is a trial with HyIron. According to the release, HyIron took iron ore fines from Kumba Iron Ore's Sishen mine in the Northern Cape and turned them into direct reduced iron with hydrogen in a rotary kiln, skipping the energy-hungry pelletising step. HyIron reports 10 kg of Scope 1 and 2 emissions per tonne of the iron. The material went through steelmaking into a demonstrator component for the EQS, and Mercedes-Benz and HyIron have signed a memorandum of understanding to work on validating the process at industrial scale.

Just Auto names Kumba's Sishen operation, and Automotive World mentions South African ore and names Anglo American and HyIron as partners. Automotive Manufacturing Solutions, which names Anglo American as the partner and doesn't mention South Africa, says the process works technically but isn't used in series production. The release adds that Sishen and Kolomela were independently audited to the IRMA mining standard and reached IRMA 75, which it says no other African iron ore mines have reached.

What it means for owners here

The announcement says nothing about what you can buy or pay in South Africa, and none of the sources mention local cars, prices or plans. The Sishen link is a demonstrator component made from South African ore. The sources give no volumes or commercial terms, and the two companies have signed only a memorandum of understanding on validation. The sources don't say which models or markets the aluminium will go into, so whether any of it reaches cars sold in South Africa isn't stated.

If you're keeping an older Mercedes-Benz, the sources say nothing about servicing or parts. We'll follow up if a South African detail appears.