From scrap tyres to door handles.

Mercedes-Benz is taking the necessary steps to go all electric. Customers and market conditions will set the pace of the transformation. One of the focal points here is the careful use of resources. In this respect, the company is also rethinking the composition of all materials used in its vehicles. The goal is to increasingly decouple resource consumption from growth in production output.

Mercedes-Benz works with various partners to take a circular approach to old tyres. One route takes advantage of BASF’s chemical recycling process. The starting point is pyrolysis oil generated from used tyres by the pyrolysis company Pyrum Innovations AG . BASF combines this with biomethane from agricultural waste. Using both of these materials together, it is possible to create a virgin-quality plastic. The cooperation between Mercedes-Benz and BASF marks the first use of pyrolysis oil from recycled end-of-life tyres combined with biomethane.

The EQS and S-Class are the first series-production models which are available with bow door handles manufactured using a combination of biomethane and pyrolysis oil made from old tyres, instead of raw fossil resources. Looking to the future, the aim is to progressively increase the use of this recycled material, and also to use chemical recycling in combination with the biomass balance approach for further plastic vehicle parts.

In contrast to mechanical recycling, chemical recycling is particularly well suited to the manufacture of components subject to high quality and safety requirements. Chemical recycling is therefore not only a sensible counterpart to mechanical recycling, but it also marks a decisive step towards the highest possible re-use of recyclable scrap materials.

When it comes to sustainability, the company is particularly focused on the careful use of resources in accordance with its Ambition 2039.^[1]The ambition of Mercedes-Benz Group is to reduce its CO₂ emissions by 2039 by 90 % in own production, by 80 % in vehicle use phase – as market conditions allow – and overall by 70 % across all relevant value chain stages compared to 2019. In addition, the Mercedes-Benz Group supports qualified climate change mitigation projects that meet recognized standards.
By 2049 at the latest, the Mercedes-Benz Group intends to achieve net-zero. Net-zero means that the CO₂ emissions will be reduced by at least 90% compared to 2019. Remaining CO₂ emissions (< 10%) will be neutralized permanently.
(further information see CTAP).
With its “Design for Environment” approach, the vehicle manufacturer already takes resource consumption into account from the very earliest stages of product development. Together with its partners, Mercedes-Benz is researching material technologies and working intensively towards circularity. Combined with the biomass balance approach, chemical recycling is an innovative process that supports this.

This article was last updated in September 2026.