BERLIN (Reuters) - Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kaellenius said ending the crisis in consumer sentiment in China was the most important thing for Mercedes-Benz in the short- and medium term, and described the auto market as a "Darwinian battle".

The consolidation of China's EV sector was leading to "cash burn and value destruction" affecting companies at the upper end, Kaellenius said, speaking at the Global Dialogue conference in Berlin.

"You must control your nerves, keep investing, keep innovating and ensure that at the end of that Darwinian battle, you are one of the combatants that are left," he said.

(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Madeline Chambers)