Don’t you just love a vehicle name that rolls off the tongue? The Ford Focus… the Vauxhall Vectra… the Mercedes-Benz B-Class E-CELL PLUS. Hmm, perhaps not.
OK, so it’s not exactly a dream come true if you love alliteration, but it is the first Mercedes-Benz electric vehicle with a range extender – and it has now made its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
The vehicle comes with a lithium-ion battery pack from Deutsche Accumotive, and has a battery only range of up to 62miles. However, with the addition of the 1.0litre three-cylinder turbocharged engine it can deliver a total range up to 373miles.
Its electric drive offers peak power of 100kW with a continuous output of 70kW. At low speeds the engine charges the battery via a generator and at high speeds it serves as a driving engine, acting on the front wheels together with the electric motor via the automatic transmission. In combined driving mode the vehicle emits just 32g/km of CO2.
With the Concept B-Class E-CELL there are two battery operating modes that are dependent on the battery charge status. When it has sufficient energy it runs on electric power alone with the battery charged from any standard domestic power outlet or a public charging station. However, when the battery charge status drops below a certain limit the combustion engine becomes active.
The vehicle can accelerate from 0-62mph in 11 seconds and has a top speed of 93mph.
