Series production of the A-Class E-CELL has been earmarked for the end of 2010 after Mercedes Benz announced plans to expand its centre of excellence for compact vehicles.
The German company will enlarge its Rastatt plant with an investment of €600million with the first vehicles of the successor generation of the A- and B-Class models to roll off the assembly line from the end of 2011.
Daimler introduced three near-production Concept BlueZERO vehicles at the North American International Auto Show in January – the BlueZERO E-CELL with battery electric drive; the BlueZERO F-CELL (fuel cell); and the BlueZERO E-CELL Plus with electric drive and an internal combustion engine as a range extender. All three models featured front-wheel drive, liquid-cooled lithium-ion batteries and had a storage capacity of up to 35kWh, as well as a compact motor with a maximum output of 100kW and a peak torque of 320Nm.
The three variants can accelerate from 0-110km/h in less than 11 seconds and reach a top speed of 93mph. The BlueZERO E-CELL has a range of up to 124 miles using electric drive alone with the E-CELL PLUS could store energy for a range of 31 miles within 30 minutes. In terms of pure electric drive, two hours is needed for a range of 124 miles.
According to Peter Wesp, the head of the Mercedes-Benz plant in Rastatt, the small series production of the A-Class E-CELL will prove the expertise of the plant with employees also highly motivated for the next generation of the A- and B-Class models.
In the future, Mercedes-Benz will offer four compact models instead of the current two in an effort to acquire new customer groups. It has been manufacturing the A-Class since 1997 and the B-Class since 2005, with its most important markets for compact vehicles expected to be Germany, Italy, France and the UK. The B-Class has also been launched in China this year and has already gained a 25 per cent market share – well ahead of initial expectations.
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