The new Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CELL has been heralded as the first fuel cell-powered electric car to be produced under series production conditions in the US.

Suitable for everyday use, the vehicle has a range of 400 km and will delivered to selected customers within the next few weeks.

It is hoped that 70 B-Class F-CELL cars will be operational in California next year on a rental basis, supported by the five public hydrogen fuelling stations already up and running in the Los Angeles area.

A further four stations are due to be opened in the vicinity before the end of the year, while another is due to be built in the San Francisco Bay region.

Mercedes-Benz is also involved in the California Fuel Cell Partnership and the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association, both of which aim to hasten the commercialisation of fuel cell-powered vehicles.

"California, with its almost traditionally demanding and restrictive environmental regulations, is the ideal region for day-to-day operation of a genuine Zero Emission Vehicle," commented Dr Thomas Weber, member of the Daimler AG Board of Management responsible for Group Research and Development for Mercedes-Benz Cars.

The manufacturer has been testing its A-Class F CELL in the US since 2004.

However, the performance of the B-Class F-CELL is significantly improved on its A-Class counterpart as it generates 30 per cent more power and consumes 30 per cent less fuel despite being 40 per cent smaller.

Furthermore, the B-Class F-CELL is capable of starting in temperatures as low as -25 degrees C.

"After more than 580,000 km covered with the A-Class F-CELL trial fleet in practical operation, we will continue to build on our experience with the latest generation of electric cars with fuel cell drive," Dr Weber commented.

"The 70 B-Class F-CELL cars in customer hands in California alone are more than twice the size of the US A-Class fleet and a further milestone on the way to market maturity of this technology by 2015."

The news coincides with the start of the Los Angeles Auto Show, which gets underway tomorrow (19th November).

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Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CELL: Mercedes-Benz brings the latest fuel cell fleet to the USA (17/11/10)

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