--- title: "Mercedes-Benz CEO Wants Company ‘Prepared’ To Help Defend Europe: TDS" date: "2026-05-18" modified: "2026-05-18" authors: - name: "Andrew P. Collins" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/andrew-p-collins" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/mercedes-benz-ceo-wants-company-prepared-to-help-defend-europe-tds" categories: - "News" - "The Downshift" --- # Mercedes-Benz CEO Wants Company ‘Prepared’ To Help Defend Europe: TDS ![Mercedes military unimog]() *\Mercedes-Benz Special Defense Trucks\* Good morning and welcome to *The Downshift*, or *TDS* for short. We've gathered the latest automotive headlines from around the globe and aggregated them for your quick-download convenience! Monday editions also include weekend race results. 🫡 Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius indicated that the company is "prepared" to get into the military-equipment business, and he clearly was not just talking about camo-painted G-Wagens. The whole quote was: "The world has become more unpredictable, and I think it is quite clear that Europe needs to strengthen its defence capabilities," as Källenius was quoted. "If we can play a positive role in that, we would be prepared to do so." *\[[Euronews]()\]* 🪖 Speaking of which—Jaguar Land Rover and General Motors are actively vying for a contract to build military trucks for the UK. *\[[The Guardian]()\]* ⛽ India's cooking fuel shortage is driving up California's gas prices *\[[Reuters]()\]* 🔧 Max Verstappen's Red Bull Mercedes AMG GT3 suffered a broken driveshaft, killing his chance of winning the 2026 Nürburgring 24 Hours win. *\[[ESPN]()\]* 🛞 *Car and Driver* columnist Ezra Dyer brought a Lamborghini Revuelto to a high school automotive class to hype up a new generation of car enthusiasts. \[*[Car and Driver]()*\] 🏛️ Automotive YouTuber Rob Ferretti ("superspeedersRob") is running for mayor of Rockleigh, New Jersey. *\[[Ferretti for Mayor]()\]* 🏁 Weekend Race Results: - **NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race:** Denny Hamlin (#11, Joe Gibbs Racing) took first with Chase Briscoe in second and Erik Jones in third - **NASCAR Xfinity Series BetRivers 200:** Corey Day, Justin Allgaier, and Sam Mayer were on the podium in that order - **IndyCar Indianapolis 500 Qualifying**: Alex Palou (Chip Ganassi Racing) sits on the pole, followed by Alexander Rossi in second and David Malukas in third - **MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix:** Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) - **Formula E Monaco E-Prix Double-Header**: Dan Ticktum (Saturday), Oliver Rowland (Sunday) - **2026 ADAC Ravenol 24h Nürburgring:** Maro Engel, Mercedes-AMG GT3 ## Author As Executive Editor, Andrew touches everything on the site from daily news coverage to feature stories, sponsored content, product reviews, road testing vehicles, ecommerce, and more. He's held pretty much every role there is to have at an automotive news site and has been with The Drive's publisher Recurrent since 2020. Andrew's a lifetime gearhead and longtime writer with a particularly strong penchant for road trips, off-road adventures, and archaic vehicles. His passions outside of the automotive world include skiing, obsolete video games, and his dog Bramble who occationally helps review cars. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()