Mercedes CEO calls for ‘reality check’, slamming EU combustion engine ban

They're worried about profit margins. That's all they care about. Investing in new technologies costs a lot and that may eat into the margins for a few years. Which is of course the absolute worst thing that could ever happen. Nothing else matters.

I guess what they want is a smooth transition where they can devise a reliable plan until 2035 when to sell how many cars of what variant.

Worst case would be that they customers buy only ICE cars until 2035 and then nothing because of a ban. Then it makes no sense to build EVs until its too late.