Mercedes-Benz has dribbled out a few more details about its eagerly-awaited B-Class Electric Drive, which is scheduled to arrive in eight US states this summer. The latest news: MSRP will be $41,450, almost exactly the same as that of the BMW i3. The Beemer, which went on sale in the US this month, appears to… Read more »
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Mercedes Intelligent HYBRID system looks at the road ahead to maximize efficiency
Cars are not just getting charged – they are also getting smarter and more perceptive, and these technological trends reinforce each other in many ways. Increasingly, vehicles use real-time data about their surroundings to maximize the efficiency of their electrified powertrains. A prime example is Mercedes-Benz’s Intelligent HYBRID system, an energy management system for hybrid… Read more »
Tesla and Daimler: Is the honeymoon over?
The partnership between Tesla and Daimler, which dates from 2008, has been advantageous for both companies, with the stodgy Germans enjoying a little of Tesla’s bad-boy chic, and the Silicon Valley upstarts benefiting from Daimler’s old-world respectability. However, it’s sounding as if Daimler has lost that lovin’ feeling. Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche told reporters at… Read more »
Mercedes B-Class Electric Drive goes into production
The first Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive has rolled off the assembly line in Rastatt, Germany, and is scheduled to go on sale in the US this summer. With an MSRP expected to be in the low 40s, the electric Benz may prove a worthy competitor to the BMW i3, and could really shake up the… Read more »
Daimler acquires two key German battery firms
Daimler has agreed to acquire Evonik’s shares of Li-Tec Battery GmbH and Deutsche ACCUmotive GmbH, making Daimler the sole owner of the two companies. In recent years, Daimler and Evonik have worked together to develop industrial series production of lithium-ion battery cells for EVs. The two companies produce the batteries used in the current model… Read more »
Pot Daimler calls kettle Tesla black re fast charging standards
It seems that not everyone is enchanted by Tesla’s plans to install 40 to 50 Supercharger stations in Germany by the end of 2014. Carmaker Daimler and parts supplier Robert Bosch recently criticized the American company for pursuing its own proprietary DC charging standard. “The future lies in standardization. As with gas stations, we need… Read more »
IHS Automotive: global plug-in production will increase 67 percent this year
According to IHS Automotive, EV sales are about to take off like a Model S on a freeway onramp. The research firm predicts that worldwide production of plug-ins will soar to more than 403,000 in 2014, a 67% increase. The Europe, Middle East and Africa region will account for the largest share of production at… Read more »
Mercedes releases details of its upcoming S 500 plug-in hybrid
Mercedes-Benz has dropped a few tantalizing details about its S 500 plug-in hybrid luxury sedan, which will make its debut at the Frankfurt Auto Show in September, and go on sale some time next year. The third hybrid model of the new S-Class, the S 500 combines an 80 kW electric motor with a 3.0-liter… Read more »
In-wheel house: Protean Electric’s in-wheel drive system nears production
When Protean Electric begins production of its Protean Drive in-wheel electric drive system later this year, it could mark the stirring comeback of the wheel hub motor, a concept that’s been more than a century in the making. Electric wheel-hub motors date all the way back to 1884, and none other than Ferdinand Porsche used… Read more »
Break out the Champagne: 100,000 plug-ins have been sold in the US
Is it a milestone in automotive history, or just an odometer moment? Who cares? Let’s celebrate! According to the latest estimates, the 100,000th plug-in vehicle was sold in the US some time this week. This total includes only “highway-capable” vehicles, not “neighborhood electric vehicles,” which number over 60,000 in California alone. The first of the… Read more »