Mercedes-Benz presented its first electric vehicle with Range Extender at the 2011 Frankfurt International Motor Show in the guise of the Mercedes-Benz B-Class E-CELL Plus Concept. The combination of electric drive and petrol engine ensures excellent suitability for both everyday use and long journeys. The energy accumulator takes the form of a lithium-ion battery from Deutsche Accumotive, which enables local emission-free driving up to a range of 100 kilometres. Thanks to the additional three-cylinder petrol engine, the Mercedes-Benz B-Class E-CELL Plus Concept has a total range of up to 600 km. A new addition to Mercedes-Benz's portfolio of electric cars is the near-series Mercedes-Benz B-Class E-CELL Plus Concept - a compact model that meets all the needs of daily motoring with a total range of up to 600 kilometres. As such, this electric vehicle is also ideally suited to long journeys and offers its driver unrestricted mobility. This is made possible by the combination of a powerful electric drive generating a peak power output of 100 kW and a continuous output of 70 KW with a 50 kW petrol engine. The latter performs a dual role: at low vehicle speeds it charges the battery via a generator.
At higher speeds - on prolonged motorway stretches, for example - it additionally serves as a driving engine, acting on the front wheels together with the electric motor via a newly developed automatic transmission. In all-electric, local emission-free mode the Mercedes-Benz B-Class E-CELL Plus Concept has a range of up to 100 kilometres. This covers over 80 percent of daily driving needs. The total range of up to 600 kilometres allows the vehicle to be used for long journeys, too. This means that the electric vehicle with Range Extender is fully suitable for everyday use and can be relied upon to reach its destination, even with a fully discharged battery. In combined driving mode the vehicle emits 32 grams of CO2 per kilometre. Prof Dr Thomas Weber, Member of the Board of Management at Daimler AG, responsible for Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development. The Mercedes-Benz B-Class E-CELL Plus Concept is an electric vehicle meeting all daily motoring needs which combines the best of two worlds: all-electric driving and driving with a tried and tested high-tech combustion engine.
This combination allows long journeys which to date have been the reserve of vehicles powered by a combustion engine alone or electric cars fitted with a fuel cell. The two drive units are extremely compact and are accommodated in the engine compartment at the front together with the transmission and the generator. The powerful lithium-ion battery and the fuel tank are located in a false floor at the rear - the so-called "Energy Space" - which has been developed specially for alternative drives. For other drive variants it is also possible to install gas or hydrogen tanks here, for example. The intelligent electronic control system of the Mercedes-Benz B-Class E-CELL Plus Concept ensures perfect handling in every driving situation. Activation and deactivation of the combustion engine take place fully automatically and go unnoticed by the driver. When the battery possesses sufficient energy, the vehicle runs locally emission-free on electric power alone. The energy accumulator can be recharged by means of a conventional domestic power socket. Rapid charging is also possible with this vehicle.
This enables a charging time in the order of one hour. When the battery charge status drops below a certain limit, the combustion engine is activated ("Range Extender mode"). The large range which is available in "Range Extender mode" ensures that the vehicle will always reach its destination, even if the battery is flat. Acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in approx. 11 seconds and the top speed of 150 km/h are both attainable in either operating mode. Below a speed of around 60 km/h, the combustion engine and generator attend to on-board power generation ("serial mode"). In this case, the combustion engine is run in the most fuel-efficient mode. At speeds of over 60 km/h the combustion engine acts as a driving engine together with the electric motor ("parallel mode"), transmitting the generated power to the front axle. Any excess power generated by the combustion engine is used to charge the battery and to run the ancillary units.
The energy accumulator is accommodated in a false floor system at the rear of the vehicle - the so-called "Energy Space" - which has been developed by Mercedes-Benz specifically for alternative drives. The energy accumulator employed here is a particularly powerful state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery designed specifically for automotive applications. It is produced by Deutsche Accumotive GmbH & Co. KG, a joint venture of Daimler and Evonik. The battery can be charged using any standard domestic power outlet or at a public charging station, by means of the charge socket integrated in the rear bumper and the 3.3 kW on-board charger. When the car goes into production, convenient remote checking and remote configuration of the vehicle will be possible by means of the so-called Vehicle Homepage. The driver will be able to access his vehicle via the internet, using his PC or smartphone. In this way, it will be possible to check the current charge status of the lithium-ion battery or to verify the vehicle's current range on a map. A further feature is smart charging.
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