The B Class is based on the Tesla powertrain. Mercedes-Benz created the EQ brand to house its future electric vehicle models.
The Times of India reported that Mercedes
is considering an EV assembly line at its facility in Chakan in Pune,
India. According to the article, Mercedes identified India as a key
market for electric mobility. “As the Indian market moves towards electrics, we will be
investigating local manufacturing here. As part of our long-term
perspective (on India), we want to manufacture here,” Mercedes-Benz
India VP (sales & marketing) Michael Jopp
told TOI. “When it happens, we would certainly manufacture them at our
plant in Chakan, alongside the combustion engine vehicles.” Mr. Jopp went further saying that the plans
are dependent on the Indian Government following through with its
support for the industry, a sentiment also voiced by Nissan Chairman
earlier this year.
Mercedes Benz announced presented pre-production cars of its E and C
Class plug-in electric models, including the C-Class Estate PHEV. The
Mercedes Benz E350e and C350e are expected in the late summer of 2018.
Mercedes upgraded the two models to the same drivetrain as the S560e
unveiled late 2017. The improved drivetrain offers am a NECD range of
50km/32miles due to a 13.5kWh, up from the 6.4kWh in the previous
generation. The drivetrain also includes a larger onboard charger of
7.2kW for faster battery charging and a more powerful 90kW/121hp
electric motor. Click here for detailed specs of 2018 E350e and C350e.
Mercedes Benz
also unveiled its latest wall box enabling 22kW charging from the new
elegant housing with cable management. The new wall box also allows the
user to various functions from a smartphone including charging control,
user management, and consumption overview. The wall box is available
from this summer in Europe and 40 other markets. The wall box is
available in as a basic 22kW charger, the internet-capable Wallbox
Advanced and the Wallbox Twin for charging two vehicles at the same time
at 11kW. The Advanced and Twin wall boxes is equipped with a built-in
electricity meter and allow access control by RFID (Radio Frequency
Identification). The RFID control makes it possible to manage several
vehicles of different users, which is especially attractive for fleets –
as well as for office communities or apartment buildings.
Mercedes announced that it would pilot ten of its eActros electric
trucks with customers. At first, the focus will be on inner-city goods
and delivery traffic, as the Mercedes-Benz eActros is well capable of
covering the ranges required in this sector. The pilot customers will
test the vehicles in real operations for twelve months, and the trucks
will then go a second round of customers for a further twelve months.
The innovation fleet will, therefore, be in operation until at least
mid-2020. The aim is to achieve series production maturity for
economically competitive electric trucks for heavy inner-city
distribution operations from 2021.
The Mercedes eActros Truck has a range of 200km provided through a
240kWh lithium battery and is charged through a system with more than
400V and a 1000A current.
Mercedes Benz announced that the Geneva Auto Show would be the venue of the world premiere for the new C-Class
Saloon and Estate PHEV model. The premiere of the C-Class will be on
the 6th of March, at 12.30 p.m. in Hall 6. The new Mercedes Benz C-Class
consists of a stylish makeover and technology upgrade equivalent to the
S-Class. Mercedes further announced that it would expand on the look
ahead for the EQ portfolio and showcase the EQC production vehicle. Also unveiled at the Geneva Auto Show will be the Smart Nightsky
Edition which will be available with a 22kW onboard charger from March
2018, reducing charge time significantly to compensate for the short
range of the Smart EV.
In a press statement, this week Mercedes
set out its EV production plans through to 2023 when it aims to
electrify its complete model range, offering 50 electrified vehicles of
which ten would be pure electric. According to Member of the Divisional
Board of Mercedes-Benz Cars, Production and Supply Chain, Markus
Schäfer, Mercedes
will assemble EVs at six plants on three continents and produce
batteries in-house at two plants. The Mercedes EV strategy as set out
this week includes battery production and assembly operations with its
Chinese JV BBAC with local partner BAIC
in Beijing. Chronologically the plan which will see the investment of
ten billion euros in assembly and a further one billion euros in battery
production will be as follows:
The Los Angeles Auto Show kicked off this week with an onslaught by German brands BMW, Daimler and VW showing off their current and future EVs. German automakers are under huge pressure to catch up to Tesla, with Porsche admitting this week that it is losing clients to the US-based leader in the EV market. BMW brought the BMW iVision, Concept X7 iPerformance, 2019 BMW i8 Roadster (in the cover picture), BMW i3S, and Mini Electric Concept to the LA Show.
Mercedes
broke from the pack, showcasing the Hydrogen powered Mercedes Benz GLC
F-Cell first introduced at the Frankfurt Auto Show. The GLC F-Cell is
expected to be released in the USA market in 2019. The rear wheel drive
GLC F-Cell is powered by a single motor delivering 197 hp and 258lb.ft
torque which draws electricity from a 13.8kWh lithium battery and a fuel
stack with 9.7 liters of hydrogen. The GLC F-Cell has an NEDC rated
electric range of 30 miles and 272 from the fuel cell.
Mercedes Benz announced
a $1 billion investment in its Tuscaloosa plant. The upgrade will
include a battery plant, making its fifth spread over three continents,
China, Europe and the USA. The plant will manufacture SUV models for the
company’s EQ brand.
Mercedes Benz
CEO, Dieter Zetsche, was cited by Autoblog as indicating that the
German automaker would produce 50 electrified versions of its models by
2022.
Mercedes Benz
unveiled the third generation hybrid transmission Mercedes-Benz S 560 e
PHEV. The S series Mercedes Benz has a range of 50km / 31miles, a
combined fuel consumption of 2.1 l/100 km, combined CO2
emissions of49 g/km and weighted power consumption of 15.5 kWh/100 km.
Daimler also delivered the first Fuso eCanter in the USA to UPS.
Mercedes Benz presented
three different alternative powered vehicles at its stand at the
Frankfurt Auto Show, the Mercedes AMG Project One PHEV, the GLC F Cell, a
fuel cell vehicle, and the EQA EV pure electric vehicle.
While the 3rd season of the Formula E is ending this weekend in Montreal, Canada with Renault e.dams
set to win it for the third season in a row, two racing car
heavyweights this week announced that they would join the series in the
6th season from 2019. Porsche announced this week that it would quit the Le Mans race and join Formula E, following sister company Audi
who left the well known 24-hour race in October 2016. The other
automaker to join the Formula E circuit was Porsches’ German compatriot
and recent Formula 1 champion, Mercedes,
who also announced this week that it will join the 2019 series, leaving
the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters to help with funding its participation
in the emerging EV racing franchise.
Daimler and Chinese BAIC Motors this week agreed to increase the investment in the Sino-German Joint Venture, Beijing Benz Automotive Co (BBAC), to manufacture electric vehicles.
The partners agreed to a further investment of 5 billion yuan (655
million euros / $735 million) at a signing of the heads of agreement in
Berlin in the presence of German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel and
Chinese President Xi Jinping. The investment by the German automaker is a further commitment to electric vehicles as it implements the aggressive electric vehicle strategy. BBAC is the localization of the Mercedes-Benz brand and will see its first electric vehicle rolling off the production line in 2020. In June 2017 both partners agreed to
strengthen their strategic collaboration through investments for New
Energy Vehicles (NEVs) in China. As part of the investment agreement,
Daimler announced its intention to acquire a minority share in Beijing
Electric Vehicle Co., Ltd. (BJEV), a subsidiary of the BAIC Group, with
the purpose of strengthening strategic collaboration with BAIC in the NEV sector.
The investment will be used to extend the
BBAC plant in Beijing, established in 2005 and already Daimler’s largest
Mercedes-Benz passenger car production hub, to become a BEV production
hub in China. The establishment of a BEV production hub will commence
with the building of an eBattery factory, which would be Daimler’s
first foreign location of its global battery production network.
Daimler plans to invest one of the ten billion euro earmarked for its electric vehicle strategy in the global battery production network for Mercedes-Benz
vehicles. The network already includes the site in Kamenz, Saxony,
built in 2010, where a second state of the art battery factory is being
built with an investment of around 500 million euros. Mercedes-Benz will
source the cell for its battery plant in Beijing from Chinese
suppliers.
Daimler and Chinese BAIC Motors this week agreed to increase the investment in the Sino-German Joint Venture, Beijing Benz Automotive Co (BBAC), to manufacture electric vehicles.
The partners agreed to a further investment of 5 billion yuan (655
million euros / $735 million) at a signing of the heads of agreement in
Berlin in the presence of German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel and
Chinese President Xi Jinping. The investment by the German automaker is a further commitment to electric vehicles as it implements the aggressive electric vehicle strategy. BBAC is the localization of the Mercedes-Benz brand and will see its first electric vehicle rolling off the production line in 2020. In June 2017 both partners agreed to
strengthen their strategic collaboration through investments for New
Energy Vehicles (NEVs) in China. As part of the investment agreement,
Daimler announced its intention to acquire a minority share in Beijing
Electric Vehicle Co., Ltd. (BJEV), a subsidiary of the BAIC Group, with
the purpose of strengthening strategic collaboration with BAIC in the NEV sector.
The investment will be used to extend the
BBAC plant in Beijing, established in 2005 and already Daimler’s largest
Mercedes-Benz passenger car production hub, to become a BEV production
hub in China. The establishment of a BEV production hub will commence
with the building of an eBattery factory, which would be Daimler’s
first foreign location of its global battery production network.
Daimler plans to invest one of the ten billion euro earmarked for its electric vehicle strategy in the global battery production network for Mercedes-Benz
vehicles. The network already includes the site in Kamenz, Saxony,
built in 2010, where a second state of the art battery factory is being
built with an investment of around 500 million euros. Mercedes-Benz will
source the cell for its battery plant in Beijing from Chinese
suppliers.
As electric vehicles become more popular so does the application for other modes of transport. For long the Chinese automakers, such as BYD and Changjiang
had the monopoly on electric buses, but this week we saw more
automakers enter the segment. The challenge with electric buses, other
than cars is that you need ultra fast charging of huge batteries, and
these huge batteries add weight to the vehicle.To be equipped with a
256kWh battery. Two automakers outside of mainland China this week announced that they are entering the electrified bus market. Hyundai
announced that it would develop an electric bus for the local market
next year. The bus is expected to be equipped with a huge 256kWh
battery. Mercedes-Benz released the following statement at the Global Public Transport Summit (GPTS) in Montreal
In parallel with
the optimisation of the diesel drive system, Mercedes-Benz is working
hard on the all-electric-powered and locally emission-free city bus. The
all-electric Citaro is due to go into series production in the coming
year – prototypes are already undergoing testing on the roads. The
electrically powered Citaro will open up a new chapter in electric
mobility, because Mercedes-Benz is not looking at the city bus in
isolation, but as an integral part of a highly efficient transport
system.
Daimler this
week, after a board meeting in Berlin, announced that it would
accelerate its $11 billion investment in electric vehicles by bringing
it forward with three years from 2025, as announced last year to 2022. Reuters reported that the automaker’s aggressive stance is the result of it not being able to cut fleet emissions of 123gm CO2/km from 2015 to 2016 in Europe. Europe has set a very stringent target of 95gm CO2/km by 2020. Daimler’s own target for 2020 is 100gm CO2. The German automaker cites the popularity of SUVs as the reason for it not cutting its emissions for the first time since 2007.
A trademark complaint in China filed by Chery Auto will hamper Mercedes-Benz new electric vehicle brand EQ‘s international aspirations. The Chery eQ, one of the most popular EV micro car’s in China over the last two years share too much similarity for the German automaker to be allowed to use the name in the worlds’ largest electric vehicle market. The Chery eQ sold around 25,000 units since it’s launch in 2015, making it one of the top 10 electric vehicles in the country. Mercedes-Benz launched the EQ
brand at the Paris Auto Show in late 2016 to house all its electric
vehicle products and services. One can only wonder how a large
corporation could have let that one slide! The EQ
brand stands for “Electric Intelligence” and is the spearhead for
Daimler’s efforts to have electric vehicles represent between 15% and
25% of its global sales
Although light on new commercial electric
vehicles the Geneva Motor Show this week offered some great eye candy
in the form of new concept vehicles, which included: Nissan announced the unveiling of the new version of its popular Leaf EV
expected in September, with commercial sales shortly after that. The
Leaf is expected to have a range of 200 miles and some autonomous
driving ability through its ProPilot system.
Techrules from China unveiled their four wheels three seater production sportscar, the Techrules REn, which features range extender technology
Mercedes-Benz USA announces that Daimler will stop selling combustion based Smart ForFour and ForTwo models in the USA and Canada. The brand will focus on electric models only in a report by Reuters.
Daimler and Uber announced
a cooperation agreement where Daimler will introduce and operate
self-driving cars on the Uber network. Uber abandoned efforts to build
its own vehicle early on, rather focusing on partnering and acquiring
technologies to achieve its goal of a self-driving fleet for its
network. Uber acquired autonomous trucking company Otto in 2016 and made
a successful delivery of a consignment of beer before being blocked by
the California DMV.
Off-course it is expected when Arnold Schwarzenegger buys an electric vehicle it will not be a Chevy Bolt, but damn the man knows how to get what he wants. The movie star turned politician unveiled his converted Mercedes Galant Wagen in Austria recently. The Kriesel converted
G-Wagen SUV sports an 80kWh battery pack producing 482hp which
accelerates the vehicle from 0 – 60mph in 5.6 seconds with a 185-mile
range (296km).
Reuters reported that Daimler plans to invest $11Bln in electric vehicle research and development. Daimler’s Research & Development Head, Thomas Weber was quoted in telling the German
publication, Stuttgarter Zeitung that “By 2025 we want to develop ten
electric cars based on the same architecture,”. The automaker targets
increasing cruising ranges above 700km (430 miles).
Although not as electric vehicle focused as the Paris Auto Show earlier the year, the Los Angeles Auto Show
to be held this coming week promises to provide further insight in how
automakers gear up for their respective electric vehicle strategies.
Vehicle Manufacturers to keep an eye out for is Hyundai, Land Rover, GM, Tesla, BMW, Mercedes, and Nissan.
Market commentators will also be looking at how some manufacturers
utilize the low fuel cost environment to bring more SUVs and crossovers
to the market. The consumer’s appetite for these vehicles in the low
fuel environment has long been the Achilles heel for the addition of EV
vehicles, adding to an ever-increasing glut of sedan vehicles.
Mercedes
finally publically unveiled its new all-electric car brand, the EQ
(Electric Intelligence). The brand will develop a host of EV related
services and products, not just cars, such as charging stations and
battery packs. The first vehicle to come from the brand is targeted at
the highly popular SUV segment, a clever move to differentiate the brand
in this hotly contested sector. The Generation EQ SUV with a battery
capacity of 70kWh providing a range of over 250miles powering two
electric motors providing 300kW of power. The production version is
expected to be launched in 2018.
Mercedes registered its
EQ model series as it paves the ay for its MEQ sub-brand of electric
vehicles. The EQ model series would be the company’s answer to the BMW i
Series. The registration included the whole alphabet, from EQA to EQX
slogans including ‘EQ inside’, ‘EQ boost’ and ‘Generation MEQ’.
Mercedes presented the first electric truck, with a range of 200km. The release forms part of the company’s efforts to challenge BMW and Tesla‘s dominance in the segment. As previously reported in our June newsletter, Mercedes
will announce the formation of a new company to house all its electric
models. Mercedes set the announcement for September.
The electric vehicles market gained further traction as Daimler’s CEO, Dieter Zetsche acknowledged the technology’s importance and expected an increase in market share. The German automaker shifted its strategy to accelerate its efforts to stay abreast of its competitors, Tesla and BMW‘s push to ramp up production in the luxury electric vehicle segment.
MERCEDES BENZ
contemplates creating an alternative brand to house it’s electric
vehicle models in. According to the German business publication, the
announcement would be made in September.
Mercedes Electric Vehicles
Mercedes Marque EV brands
Mercedes Plug-in Hybrid Electric Models
Mercedes Fuel Cell Electric Models
Mercedes Electric Car Strategy in the news
2018 Week 25 Mercedes Benz considers EV plant in China
2018 Week 10 Mercedes Benz upgrades C and E Class plug-in drivetrain
2018 Week 10 Mercedes Benz unveils new wallbox
2018 Week 8 Mercedes Benz eActros Truck pilot starts
2018 Week 7 Mercedes Benz at the Geneva Auto Show
2018 Week 6 Mercedes Benz identifies hubs for EV production
2017 Week 48 Mercedes Benz at LA Auto Show
2017 Week 38 Mercedes Benz to invest $1 Bln in the USA
2017 Week 37 Mercedes Benz EV strategy update
2017 Week 37 Mercedes Benz introduces new EV models
2017 Week 37 Mercedes Benz at the Frankfurt Auto Show
2017 Week 30 Mercedes to join Formula E
2017 Week 27 Daimler and BAIC deepens co-operation around EVs
2017 Week 27 Daimler and BAIC deepens co-operation around EVs
2017 Week 20 Electrified public transport gets a leg up this week
2017 Week 13 Daimler accelerates it electric vehicle program
2017 Week 12 Mercedes-Benz EQ hit by trademark complaint
2017 Week 10 Mercedes-Benz AMG GT Concept unveiled
2017 Week 7 Mercedes-Benz USA to only sell electric Smart models in the USA and Canada
2017 Week 5 Daimler and Uber to co-operate on self-driving cars
2017 Week 4 Arnold Schwarzenegger upgrades a Galant Wagen to a full electric vehicle
2016 Week 48 Daimler to invest $11Bln in electric vehicles
2016 Week 45 Los Angeles Auto Show 2016
2016 Week 39 EQ sub-brand
2016 Week 32 Strategy, sub-brand
2016 Week 31 Electric Truck
2016 Week 29 Strategy
2016 Week 25 Strategy, Sub brand
Top 5 Electric Vehicle News Stories of Week 23 2020
Top 5 EV News Week 23 2020 | In this week’s newsletter, we look at Chinese EVs in Europe, affordable competition for the EQV, other cool new EVs, and financial support for JLR.
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