This year at IAA Mercedes is showcasing both fuel cell technologies with the F125, and latest electric drivetrain with this B-Class E-CELL PLUS.
This B-Class is an electric car with a range extender engine, and it’s the first Mercedes to features such system. E-CELL stands for battery-electric drive, the PLUS for the additional gasoline engine.
The car has a range of 600 km in total, 100 of which can be done purely on electricity before the gasoline unit kick in. As for the power, it has 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 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 storage medium is a lithium-ion battery from Deutsche Accumotive. The powerful electricity storage unit is built safely into a specially developed, space-saving intermediate floor in front of the rear axle – known as the Energy Space. 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.
The new generation B-Class will get a green variant with either fuel cell or electric drive in near future.
