The future of electric driving celebrated its world premiere this morning at the 2013 New York International Auto Show: the Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive makes its debut with a dynamic design, high-quality interior and a high-torque electric motor for local emission-free driving. This makes for lively and effortless driving pleasure over a range of around 115 miles. In addition, the B-Class Electric Drive is digitally networked meaning it can be conveniently checked and configured via the internet. As a true Mercedes it also sets high standards in terms of comfort, quality and safety. Bearing the Mercedes star as an unmistakable trademark, the B-Class Electric Drive will be launched first in the USA at the beginning of 2014, where it will be the first luxury battery electric car from Mercedes-Benz in the market.

The new B-Class Electric Drive surprises with a particularly dynamic driving experience, delivering decidedly powerful acceleration while gliding along the road practically silently. The driver and passengers in this new electric Mercedes will enjoy the familiar comfort of a well designed, high-quality interior offering a generous amount of space. The B-Class Electric Drive thus combines dynamism and driving pleasure with zero local emissions – in short, electric driving at the premium level.

According to Dr. Joachim Schmidt, member of the Mercedes-Benz Cars Board of Management responsible for Sales and Marketing: “The B-Class Electric Drive meets the wishes of many customers for emission-free driving without foregoing the hallmark attributes of a Mercedes-Benz, namely safety, comfort and, of course, not to forget exhilarating driving pleasure.”

The new Mercedes B-Class Electric Drive will be availabe in the U.S. early next year but pre-orders will likely make it sold out for quite a while so place your order early if you want one.

Powerful and lively drive system

The new Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive is based on the conventionally powered B-Class, which has become a bestseller in many countries since its market debut in 2011. As a particularly versatile vehicle concept, the B-Class also allows environmentally friendly motoring at the Mercedes level thanks to its innovative electric drive. In the USA, the vehicle is being introduced onto the market exclusively as the electric variant.

Quiet and local emission-free drive power is provided by an electric motor generating more than 100 kW. Typically for an electric drive, the maximum torque of 310 Nm is available right from the first tap on the accelerator pedal – this roughly corresponds to the torque delivery of a modern petrol engine with a displacement of 3.0 litres. This results in decidedly powerful acceleration from a standing start. For the standard sprint from 0 to 60 mph (100 km/h), the electric-powered B-Class requires considerably less than ten seconds. This guarantees superior driving performance and highly dynamic, exhilarating driving pleasure in any situation.

A powerful lithium-ion battery feeds energy to the electric drive and is accommodated in the so-called “Energy Space” in the vehicle’s underfloor – a solution which is both space-saving and safe. Thanks to this intelligent packaging, the five-seater retains the familiar, generous interior space and luggage space of the B-Class.

Emission-free even over longer distances

The maximum speed is electronically limited to 100 mph (160 km/h) in the interests of operating range. Depending on the respective driving cycle, the range is around 115 miles (200 km). This means that in addition to emission-free driving in urban traffic and on short-range trips, longer journeys can also be undertaken without any problems – such as the distances covered on a daily basis by commuters going to work, for example. The B-Class Electric Drive can be recharged at any standard household power socket. In the USA, the charging time for a range of about 60 miles (100 km) is less than 2 hours at 240 V/40 A.

While the car is on the move, the electric drive itself contributes to a favourable energy balance through recuperation, by converting kinetic energy into electric current in deceleration mode and during braking and feeding this energy into the battery.

Dynamic Mercedes-Benz design

Refined sportiness together with aesthetic visual appeal – the B-Class Electric Drive is another example of the self-assured and dynamic Mercedes design, with powerful, tense lines and finely styled details. Both the front and rear set the tone for the vehicle’s width, which comes courtesy of the wide, prominent grille and headlamps extending into the vehicle sides, as well as the wide rear window, two-piece rear lamp cluster and the large tailgate with low boot sill. The side sill panels and striking bumpers with bar-shaped LED daytime driving lights exude dynamism. The charging socket is inconspicuously installed behind the charging flap.

Sporty interior with premium details

The interior underscores the high comfort standards of Mercedes-Benz. High-quality materials and finely structured surfaces, premium details, and precise finishing all highlight the fact that electric driving is defined at a very high level according to the philosophy of Mercedes-Benz.

The three large, round air vents in the centre with their distinctively designed cross-form nozzles are sporty features that contribute to the emotional design idiom of the interior. Above the air vents is the display screen for the telematics system which appears to be free-floating – a modern, eye-catching feature of the cockpit.

When it comes to information and communication systems, the electric B-Class offers levels of convenience and functionality that were previously reserved for higher classes of vehicles. Standard onboard features include the Audio 20 with a 14.7 cm colour screen, a twin tuner, an MP3-capable CD player and a USB connection. Navigation is provided for by the Becker® MAP PILOT. The multimedia system COMAND Online with internet access, navigation and LINGUATRONIC voice control is also available as an optional extra.

Functions specific to electric vehicles have been added to the instrumentation of the B-Class Electric Drive. The power display in the dial instrument on the right is immediately obvious. When power is being consumed, its pointer rises in a clockwise direction from the green to the red area, and drops back below the zero line when the vehicle is feeding recuperative energy back into the battery.

Fully networked: connected services

Its cutting-edge technology ensures that the B-Class Electric Drive is not only sustainable (because it offers local emission-free driving) and agile (because of its high torque and acceleration), but also fully networked. Remote checking and remote configuration of the vehicle are conveniently possible via the Vehicle Homepage, for example. The driver can easily access his vehicle via the internet, using a PC or smartphone. In this way, it is possible to check the current charge status of the lithium-ion battery or to verify the vehicle’s current range on a map. The planned route can also be displayed, immediately showing where the vehicle can be recharged along the way, if necessary. The range of connected services is rounded off with a pre-entry climate control option offering individually timed pre-heating or cooling. This pre-entry climate control system makes the B-Class Electric Drive unique in its segment.

Big on safety

Mercedes-Benz applies its familiar, high safety standards to the B-Class Electric Drive. Thanks to the innovative “Energy Space”, the battery is safely accommodated in the underfloor of the vehicle for crash protection. In addition, Mercedes-Benz has already equipped this innovative electric car with the radar-based collision warning system COLLISION PREVENTION ASSIST with adaptive Brake Assist as standard. This assistance system gives the driver a visual and acoustic warning of recognized obstacles, prepares him for braking action and assists him with the braking process as the situation requires. In this way it significantly reduces the danger of a rear-end collision. Additional, more up-to-date driver assistance systems are also available – among them Blind Spot Assist, Lane Keeping Assist and Active Parking Assist.

Electric motoring made by Mercedes-Benz

Local emission-free electric vehicles such as the new B-Class Electric Drive are a major part of the Mercedes-Benz strategy for sustainable mobility. The Stuttgart-based premium manufacturer is reasserting its claim to leadership in this sector with electric vehicles which are fully suitable for everyday use. These include the A-Class E-CELL, the B-Class F-CELL, the Vito E-CELL van, and the SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive. The smart fortwo electric drive – of which well over 1000 units have been produced and delivered since the middle of last year – has enjoyed an extremely positive response from our customers, too. The new B-Class Electric Drive will be available initially in the USA from the beginning of 2014, and will be launched in European markets subsequently.

Technical data*

Output	More than 100 kW
Torque	More than 310 Nm
Range	115 miles [US City], 200 km [NEDC]
Charging time for a range of 60 miles [US City] (100 km [NEDC])	USA: 2 h at 240 V/40 A (ECE: 1.5 h at 400 V)
Acceleration 0-60 mph (0-100 km/h)	Under 10 s
Top speed	100 mph (160 km/h), electronically limited

Electric cars from Mercedes-Benz and smart are already covering the entire spectrum of individual mobility. This is underscored by the three new battery-electric drive vehicles celebrating their premieres at the 2012 Paris Motor Show. Together with the series-production version of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive and the smart BRABUS electric drive, the show also sees the premiere of the B-Class Electric Drive concept, a battery-electric variant of the B-Class. While both two-seaters set sporty accents – each in their own way – the electric B‑Class, due for market launch in 2014, presents a compelling case with its full everyday usability. Mercedes-Benz is setting further accents at the world’s most-visited motor show with the equally environmentally friendly B-Class Natural Gas Drive, as well as the new A-Class, which is already enjoying a very successful market debut here in France.

“Three new electric cars in three different segments – a wonderful demonstration of our broad-ranging e-mobility line-up. Our new electric SLS of course symbolizes the dynamism of the Mercedes-Benz brand in a particularly impressive fashion,” says Dr. Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars. The three electric cars shown in Paris come with the suffix “Electric Drive” in their model designations. In future, this lettering will grace the rear lid of all battery-electric passenger vehicles from Mercedes‑Benz, Mercedes-AMG and smart.

The B-Class Electric Drive concept combines comfortable driving fun with full everyday and family usability. It is driven by a 100 kW electric motor, which delivers exceptional dynamics plus a range of 200 kilometres thanks to its powerful torque of 310 Newton metres. Ensuring that the generous and variable interior space remains unaffected is the “ENERGY SPACE” in the vehicle floor in front of the rear axle. It provides a space-saving and secure location for the lithium-ion battery, while also benefitting the vehicle’s centre of gravity.

“Electric cars are a significant component of our strategy for sustainable mobility,” says Prof. Dr. Thomas Weber, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development. “In the B-Class, we have an extremely versatile compact car that is well-suited to a variety of different drives – from internal combustion engines through pure battery-electric drive to fuel cells. Thanks to the ENERGY SPACE, the B-Class is the Mercedes pioneer for alternative drives in the compact premium car segment.”

SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive – the most powerful super sports car with electric drive

Mercedes-AMG is launching a whole new era with the new SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive – the zero-local-emissions super sports car with Formula 1 high-tech is the most exclusive and dynamic way to drive an electric car. The most powerful of all AMG high-performance vehicles is equipped with four electric motors delivering a total output of 552 kW and maximum torque of 1,000 Nm. These vital statistics make the gullwing the fastest electric-drive series-production vehicle in the world – the SLS AMG Electric Drive completes the sprint from zero to 100 km/h in just 3.9 seconds.

smart BRABUS electric drive and smart forstars concept – more style, more power and more exclusiveness

smart is expanding its portfolio of zero-local-emission cars to include the particularly dynamic smart BRABUS electric drive. Like the production model, the uprated variant is available as a coupé and a cabrio. “The smart BRABUS electric drive is our sports car with a green heart”, says smart boss Dr Annette Winkler. “Electric driving in the city is more fun than ever with short bundle of power.” The same applies outside city limits: the smart BRABUS electric drive sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in 10.2 seconds and with a top speed of 130 km/h it is also a little faster than the basic model. And despite the enhanced performance it has the same range of 145 kilometres (NEDC).

With the smart forstars, smart is continuing its series of clever concept vehicles and also offering a glimpse of the brand’s future design idiom. smart’s presentation in Paris will focus on the world premiere of the electrically driven two-seater that features an integrated video projector. Further new products that smart is presenting at the Mondial de l’Automobile are the special model smart fortwo edition iceshine and the dynamic smart BRABUS electric drive.

Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive Concept – The electric Mercedes in the compact segment

The Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive concept is powered by an electric motor, which puts out 100 kW and 310 Nm of torque. This powertrain can take the electric B Class from nought to 62 mph (100 km/h) in less than 10 seconds and up to a top speed of 150 km/h. Mercedes says that with a fully charged battery, the B Class electric is able to run for up to 200 km. If you’re batter is empty, and you need to drive for a maximum of 100 km, you only need to recharge it for an hour. To save energy, Mercedes used the “keep it clean”

A super start for the new A-Class – 70,000 advance orders in Western Europe

A further Mercedes highlight in Paris is the new A-Class, which is already enjoying a very successful market debut in France. More than 60,000 potential customers came to the market launch in the showrooms of French Mercedes dealerships. A total of around 700,000 visitors took part in the market premiere. Dieter Zetsche: “We have taken around 70,000 advance orders in Western Europe alone. This makes the market premiere of the new A-Class the most successful experienced by Mercedes-Benz to date.”

The new A-Class has an exceptionally emotional design, with dynamic engines ranging from 80 kW (109 hp) to 155 kW (211 hp). It is highly efficient, with emissions figures starting at 98 g CO2/km, it has a best-in-class cd value of 0.27 and boasts exemplary safety. The list of standard equipment includes the radar-guided assistance system COLLISION PREVENTION ASSIST. The petrol engines and the top diesel unit already fulfil the EURO 6 standard, setting the benchmark for clean exhaust emissions.