More Mercedes Plug-in Hybrids Are Coming

Mercedes will bring 10 new plug-in hybrid models to the market by 2017, according to a board member speaking at the launch of the Mercedes S 500 Hybrid, reports CarAdvice.com.au. A new model will debut every four months, and this rapid-fire expansion will make Mercedes a major player in the plug-in market in short order all thanks to modular motor setup that can fit into multiple models.

Next up is a C-Class plug-in hybrid, which has already been spotted testing on roadways, and every Mercedes model from the C-Class on up can be fitted with the modular plug-in drivetrain.

“In principle, the [plug-in hybrid] system is suitable for all Mercedes models with rear-wheel drive and 4MATIC drive,” said Daimler AG board member Dr. Thomas Weber “This modular approach enables high volumes and therefore economies of scale … a first-class, standardised modular hybrid system with individual components.These modules can be freely combined with gasoline and diesel engines and also with all engine types, starting withour four and six cylinders.”

Down the road, the system can also be adapted to smaller front-drive models like the A-Class and B-Class, the latter of which currently uses a Tesla-developed electric drivetrain. The S 500 Hybrid is the vanguard of a new generation of plug-in Mercs. Using a 3.0 liter twin-turbo V6 engine paired with a powerful electric motor and 8.7 kWh of lithium-ion batteries for a total output of 436 of Tesla-rivaling horsepower. Throw in some of the most advanced autonomous driving technologies, the promise of wireless charging, and a world-renowned brand name, and you’ve got the first of what Mercedes says is many plug-in hybrids.

Does that mean they’re giving up on pure electric vehicles for now?

Source: Gas 2.

World's Largest Car2go Fleet is Deployed in Berlin

In extreme sports, they say "go big, or go home." Car2go's doing both. Daimler AG's car-sharing division, which has operations in places such as Amsterdam, Vienna and San Diego, last week launched service in Berlin in its native Germany with by far its largest fleet of Smart ForTwo two-seaters available for short-term rentals. Car2go Berlin has 1,000 vehicles available for the approximately 65-square-mile area where customers can pick up and drop of the two-seaters. Car2go is charging a one-time registration fee of 9.9 euros (about $13 at current exchange rates) and will charge 12.9 ($17) euros an hour to drive. By the time the service started up in Berlin, 2,000 people had already pre-registered for the service. The car-sharing service, which has about 70,000 members throughout Europe and North America, launched in 2009 in Austin, TX. Last month, Car2go started service in Washington, D.C., and Portland, OR and said it would debut in the UK in this fall. Source: Autoblog Green / Press Release

Daimler’s car-sharing service car2go expands to Canada

Daimler’s car-sharing service car2go is expanding into Canada with the announcement that Vancouver, British Columbia, is the first Canadian city selected to launch its innovative mobility service. A newly created company, car2go Canada Ltd., a subsidiary of Daimler North America Corporation, will also be located in Vancouver.

First launched in Ulm, Germany three years ago, car2go was successfully rolled out a year later in North America in Austin, Texas. To date, a total of more than 35,000 customers have joined the car2go program in Ulm and Austin. There have been more than 600,000 fully automated rental transactions, averaging between 10 and 60 minutes.

car2go was also recently introduced in Hamburg, Germany, and becomes operational in Amsterdam in the Netherlands at the end of 2011.

car2go uses a “free-floating” model of car sharing, where cars are available throughout the city and can be accessed “on-demand” or reserved up to 24 hours in advance. car2go members can use car2go smartphone apps, the car2go website or a telephone hotline to find the nearest vehicle within the 47-square-kilometer Vancouver pickup and drop-off area which consists of the following quadrant: the south border follows 41^st Avenue to the north border which follows the Burrard Inlet. The east border is Nanaimo Street and the west border is Alma Street.

Members can drive the car when and where they want, and then they can simply leave it in any available “permit only” on-street parking spot in downtown or residential neighborhoods within the defined business area, or in one of the specially marked car2go parking spaces. In essence, every trip is a one-way rental, with no need to return to the location where the driver picked up the vehicle.

car2go charges customers only for the actual use of the vehicle, with rental periods as short as a per-minute basis. The rental prices in Vancouver are C$0.35 per minute, C$12.99 per hour and C$65.99 CAD per day which includes fuel, parking, mileage, insurance, maintenance, cleaning, GPS navigation and a 24/7 hotline customer support.

The smart “car2go edition” vehicles, developed in collaboration by car2go and smart in Germany, are the first series-produced automobiles designed and manufactured specifically for car sharing. Every car2go vehicle is outfitted with a solar roof and telematics hardware, including an onboard computer with a touch screen with radio and GPS controls. The smart “car2go edition” vehicles for Vancouver are provided by Mercedes- Benz Canada and its Vancouver Retail Group.

A network of 225 smart “car2go edition” vehicles will be available to Vancouver car2go members as of June 2011. Starting today until 29 May 2011, Vancouver residents can pre-register for their car2go membership without having to pay the registration fee (a C$35 value) at www.car2govancouver.com using Promo Code: VAN, or in person at the car2go office at 45 Water Street in the Gastown area of downtown Vancouver.

car2go conducted a trial assessment of its service in Vancouver from June 2010 to March 2011 with select test users.

Source: Green Car Congress

Daimler and Bosch to establish joint venture for electric motors

PRESS RELEASE

• Development, production, and sales of electric motors for all-electric vehicles
• Production start-up planned for 2012
• Locations in Hildesheim and Stuttgart

Stuttgart – Daimler AG and Robert Bosch GmbH plan to expand their long-standing partnership and cooperate in the development and production of electric motors for all-electric vehicles in Europe. The companies have signed a letter of intent and begun negotiations to establish a 50:50 joint venture that should be concluded in the first half of 2011.

Both companies aim, by bundling their competencies, to accelerate development advances in electric motors as well as to make accordant synergies accessible. According to their letter of intent, joint production should start in 2012. It is envisioned that the electric motors developed will be used in Mercedes-Benz and smart electric vehicles from 2012. Subsequent sales to other automakers are to be handled by Bosch. The joint activites will be located in the greater Stuttgart area and in Hildesheim.

The Bosch Group is a leading supplier of technology and services to the automotive sector. It has a high level of competence in developing and producing electric motors, which it is already manufacturing in series in Hildesheim.

The automotive manufacturer Daimler has built up 20 years of experience in the area of electric vehicles as well as their key components electric motor and battery, giving it a comprehensive understanding of how results can be best achieved in this field.

Daimler AG Claims Fuel Cells To Be Affordable As EV's

Daimler F-Cell Fuel Cell Vehicle










Daimler AG predicts a big decline in the costs for EV batteries and fuel cell cars.

"A few years ago, the price was at about 1,500 euros per kilowatt hour [for a lithium ion battery]. In the midterm we should be at a level of 400 euros," Herbert Kohler, head of e-drive and future mobility at Daimler, told Automotive News Europe.

Kohler said he expected an even bigger price decrease for fuel cells.

"By 2015, we think a fuel cell car will not cost more than a four-cylinder diesel hybrid that meets the Euro 6 emissions standard," Kohler said.

He added that he expects EVs to be more expensive than fuel cells in less than five years.

That is why Daimler is working fast to get more fuel cell cars on the road.

"By 2013-2014, we want to bring a four-digit-number of fuel cell vehicles to market," Kohler said.

Daimler has spent the past year running a test fleet of its B-class fuel cells cars. The company plans to launch a second-generation of the car when it starts building the next-generation A- and B-class models on its new front-wheel drive architecture in 2013-2014. Kohler added that Daimler may make fuel cell versions of the C- and E-class luxury models

Another reason Daimler is bullish on fuel cells is because of its cooperation with German supplier Linde AG.

"For gas-producers in general, fuel-cells are a very profitable business-case" Kohler said. "I expect that there will be a network of 1,000 fuel-stations in Germany alone in the mid-term. This means that you will find a fuel-station for your fuel cell within 30 kilometers."

When asked about media speculation that Daimler and Toyota Motor Corp. plan to work closer together on fuel cells, Kohler said: "We have talked about basic technologies and we want to continue that. But a close cooperation is not in sight so far."

Source: Automotive News

BAIC to mass produce all-electric vehicles next year

Beijing Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (BAIC Group) will begin mass-production of all-electric vehicles in 2011 and will roll out 30 units of the C60 electric cars this year, the Beijing News reported Monday.

BAIC, the Chinese partner of Daimler AG and Hyundai Motor Corp, also plans to put into operation a production base with annual capacity of 40,000 new energy vehicles in the second quarter of next year.

Lin Yi, who is responsible for BAIC's new energy vehicle project, said among the 3,500 all-electric vehicles to be built next year, the C60FB using the Saab 9-3 platform will account for 800 units, the C301 based on the C30 will account for 1,200 units and the rest 1,500 units will be the M30 R B electric minivans. At present, ten C60FB electric cars have rolled off the assembly line.

BAIC, the country's fifth-largest automaker, will make all-electric vehicles based on its C-, B-, A+-, A- and A0-class models as well as its mini vehicles in the future.

The initial C60FB will be available in 30kW and 60KW versions, both adopting the lithium-ion battery and permanent magnet synchronous motor. The first version has a top speed of 160 km/h while the second version has a peak speed of 190 km/h.

Under the Group's '12 5' plan (2011-2015), its new energy vehicle base will have an annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles, 200,000 control systems and of 150,000 driving systems when operation starts and will generate annual sales revenue of 15 billion yuan ($2.2 billion).

Source: Automotive News