Daimler has just announced an investment of over 7 billion euros (approx. $10.2 billion CAD) in green technology research and development in the next two years alone.
Mercedes-Benz will become the first company to offer a fuel cell vehicle with plug-in technology, namely the GLC F-CELL.
A fully electric vehicle platform will be developed, and all Mercedes-Benz models will use some form of electrification in the medium term. The list includes:
- Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe 350 e 4MATIC and GLE 500 e 4MATIC
- Mercedes-Benz E 350 e
- Mercedes-Benz S 500 e (for the first time EV operating ranges exceeding 50 km will be made possible)
- Mercedes-Benz C 350 e
Meanwhile at smart, the fortwo coupe electric drive, fortwo cabrio electric drive, and forfour electric drive will make their global debuts at the 2016 Paris Auto Show in September. In fact, smart will become the only car company in the world to offer its entire range of models either powered by internal combustion engines or operating entirely on battery power.
As for charging, Daimler will be offering inductive charging from 2017. New for cable-connected charging, too: From 2018, DC charging based on the Combined Charging System (CCS) standard will gradually find its way into all electric vehicles from Mercedes-Benz.