Posts with tag: Electric

smart celebrates its 10th anniversary and millionth fortwo car

smart fortwo 10 year anniversary21 535x376 smart celebrates its 10th anniversary and millionth fortwo car
The smart car as well as the whole company had its ups and downs in the last ten years. After years of restructuring and reorganizing the company, Daimler has finally brought the smart division into a stable position. Today, the one millionth smart fortwo rolled off the production line at the plant in Hambach, France – a micro hybrid drive (mhd) in the passion equipment line. On the occasion of the production anniversary and the tenth birthday of the smart brand Daimler presented the new smart electric drive. In Hambach Dr. Dieter Zetsche, President and CEO of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars said “The smart electric drive makes zero emission driving in an urban environment a reality.”

Real world testing of the smart fortwo ‘ed’ in London

smart fortwo ed electric drive electric vehicle06 535x376 Real world testing of the smart fortwo ed in London
Daimler AG has started a trial run of its electric smart fortwo (aka smart ed) vehicle in the city of Islington, UK. The vehicle powered solely by electricity, and chargeable from any three-pin socket the smart ed (electric drive) can achieve the equivalent of 300 mpg – that amounts to a saving of up to 80% in fuel costs over the already highly economical smart fortwo.

The ev can travel up to 72 miles between charges, which typically take around 8 hours for a full charge. During the test phase, but possibly even after the official launch, drivers will find free electricity provided by some London boroughs, as well as free or discounted parking. Among the partners already enrolled in the trial are Urban Splash, Islington and Coventry Councils, Foster & Partners, CarbonNeutral Company, EDF Energy and Amey.

Tesla Motors to Supply Mercedes-Benz with Lithium Ion Batteries

tesla motors mercedes benz partnership 535x291 Tesla Motors to Supply Mercedes Benz with Lithium Ion Batteries
A couple of weeks ago, we reported on a technology deal that Daimler AG and Tesla Motors are working on. While we thought the deal might involve the 1.0l smart fortwo engines, as Autoblog was claiming. According to AutomobilWoche, the deal involves lithium ion batteries that Tesla Motors will be supplying for the Mercedes-Benz electric cars. Mercedes probably realized that Tesla is much farther ahead in the development of long-lasting and durable lithium ion batteries than they are, which is why they opted to purchasing the batteries, instead of making them.

The process of making batteries for electric vehicles as well as hybrids, such as the Toyota Prius, is fairly complicated and resource heavy. In the Top Gear Supercar Fuel Economy Test that we posted a couple of days ago, Jeremy Clarkson shorty explains the process of making the batteries and also points out that more carbon and emissions are produced from making these batteries than they are actually able to save in the long run.

Mercedes Benz TecDay 2008: The Smart Electric Drive


While Daimler is continuing their efforts to bring an electric Mercedes-Benz sedan to the market in 2010, they have already showcased a first concept of the smart fortwo ED (electric drive). The zero emissions electric smart is powered by a 41hp electric motor and can go 115km (71.4 miles) before having to recharge. Its top speed is 112km/h or 70mph, which is more than enough for congested freeways in the states and around the world. The fortwo ED stores its energy in high-temperature batteries located under the car; it’s charged by plugging it into a regular 220 volt outlet. It does 0-60km/h (not mph) in 5.7 seconds, just like the gas powered version of the smart fortwo. All we need now is for the car to be mass produced.

Dieter Zetsche Confirms Electric Mercedes in 2010 – We were right!!

mercedes electric vehicle car Dieter Zetsche Confirms Electric Mercedes in 2010   We were right!!
We usually don’t like to brag here at BenzInsider, but this time we just can’t resist. If you’ve been following our news over the last couple of months, you might remember our story from March 17th about the 100% electric car from Mercedes. That is right ladies and gentleman, we posted a rumor story on a Mercedes plan to enter the market for all-electric powered vehicles, after receiving an email from someone within Mercedes. Our story wasn’t really covered too much, which as you can see now is unfortunate. The all electric “rumor” that we reported on, is the real deal, unfortunately, nobody in the automotive blog world will ever give us credit for being the first to expose this story.

Daimler plans to roll out a Mercedes-Benz model that runs on electricity in 2010, its chief executive said in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

“We plan an electric Smart for 2010 and for the same year a Mercedes (electric) model as well,”

Daimler currently has in London a fleet of 100 first-generation Smart cars that run on electricity.

Mr. Zetsche made no remark regarding the price, but based on the current market for electric vehicles, we can assume that the price for an electric smart fortwo will be significantly more than for a similar gasoline powered model.

“That depends on whether we sell the batteries with the car or lease them. The willingness (on the part of consumers) to pay more is limited,” he said, adding that the group is also considering whether to manufacture electric motors itself. Daimler, which spends about half of its research and development budget on powertrains and CO2 reduction, is also in talks with ex-SAP executive Shai Agassi regarding his plan to create a mass-market infrastructure for electric cars.

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