Mercedes-Benz confirmed on Monday (15th December) that it intends to unveil three new environmentally-friendly, electro-mobile models at a major car show next month.

The German automaker will debut its Concept BlueZERO series, which is based around a single vehicle design, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The range is comprised by the E-CELL, which features battery-electric drive, the fuel cell-powered F-CELL and the E-CELL PLUS, which incorporates electric drive and an additional internal combustion engine for power.

Commenting on the new vehicles, Dr Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, said: "The flexible BlueZERO concept allows electro-mobility for every requirement and highlights the fact that Mercedes-Benz is the world's only car manufacturer to already have in place all the key technologies for electric cars offering full everyday practicality."

The company has manufactured the cars using a modular system, which means a number of flexible driving components have been combined to add to their appeal.

It has used lithium-ion batteries which can store up to 35KW/h and a compact electric motor capable of producing 100KW and attaining a continuous output of 70KW.

The batteries in the E-CELL and E-CELL PLUS models can offer enough power for 50km within 30 minutes, while one or two hours' worth of charging can offer a purely electrical drive range of 100km and 200km respectively.

In addition, the F-CELL includes a fuel cell which can provide a range of comfortably over 400km, with zero emissions.

The company also confirmed that it will be producing the first Mercedes fuel cell cars on a small scale next year and the first battery-electric drive alone vehicles in 2010.

Source:

Mercedes-Benz Concept BlueZERO: Modular Drive Concept for Electric Vehicles (15/12/08)
http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-7153-1-1160703-1-0-0-0-0-0-9293-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html