Mercedes-Benz A-Class goes electric

Mercedes-Benz is introducing its latest electric car built in series-production conditions: the A-Class E-CELL. Based on the current five-door version of the A-Class this battery-powered electric vehicle is said to meet all the requirements for a family car for everyday use. Mercedes-Benz will be making a 500 production at Rastatt from autumn 2010 that will be leased to selected customers in several European countries, including Germany, France and the Netherlands.

“Over our almost 125-year history, we have accumulated extensive experience and knowhow in the area of electric vehicles, including both battery and fuel-cell. This knowhow has already provided the basis for getting two electric cars for everyday use onto the road: the smart fortwo electric drive, and the B-Class F-CELL. The story now continues with our third electric car, the A-Class E-CELL., whose start of production is scheduled for autumn this year. The new car is a battery-driven electric Mercedes that enlarges our portfolio and offers our customers the kind of driving pleasure, comfort and safety that they have come to expect”, says Dr Thomas Weber, the Daimler AG Board of Management member responsible for Group Research and Development Mercedes-Benz Cars.

The A-Class E-CELL is powered by a quiet, locally emission-free electric drive with a power output of 95 hp and torque of 290 Nm. Thanks to its’ two high-efficiency lithium-ion batteries it delivers a range of more than 200 km. As for the performance, the E-CELL takes 5.5 seconds to accelerate from 0-60 km/h and is able to reach a top speed of 150 km/h (electronically controlled). A kick-down function is used to deliver maximum acceleration, according to the current charge level and battery temperature.

According to Mercedes the A-Class E-CELL presents some advantages in terms of agility and driving pleasure when compared with contemporary electric cars. The German brand explains that this has to due with the low centre of gravity, which is partly the result of the installation of the batteries under the passenger compartment, in the “sandwich” structure of the vehicle floor. This gives the car excellent road-holding and handling characteristics.

The A-Class E-CELL features a special thermomanagement system that keeps the high-voltage batteries cooled inside an ideal temperature gap. This system is based on a low-temperature cooling circuit.

The charging process for the E-CELL has been developed in a flexible way. The batteries can be refilled in single-phase 230-volt sockets, three-phase sockets in a household wall-box, and public recharging points. When using a single-phase 230-volt network eight hours will be necessary to accumulate the energy required for a range of 100 km. With the wall-box or at a roadside recharging point the process takes three hours.

Together with other European automakers and energy utilities Daimer has agreed on the standardization of charging plugs and sockets, which is seen as a key prerequisite for the spread of electric mobility.