Mercedes-Benz News
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It's a plug-in hybrid crossover, but it doesn't have an engine. It's a hydrogen fuel-cell SUV, but it has a feature no other hydrogen-powered car offers. It's the Mercedes-Benz GLC F-Cell EQ Power, launched Tuesday at the Frankfurt motor show. DON'T MISS: Mercedes-Benz GLC to offer world's first plug-in fuel-cell powertrain (Jun 2016) It's a vehicle, frankly, that has quite a lot going on inside its very expensive powertrain—and it's going into (low-volume) production two years from now. Mercedes-Benz has experimented with hydrogen fuel-cell technology for a couple of decades, in...
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Mercedes-Benz Concept EQA small electric hatchback debuts in FrankfurtFollowing various teaser images, the Mercedes-Benz EQA concept for a compact all-electric hatchback made its debut on Tuesday at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show. It's a preview of what will become a volume production car around 2020, competing against numerous 200-mile hatchbacks of the same size...
John Voelcker -
Latest image shows shape of Mercedes EQA compact electric car for Frankfurt showGerman luxury maker Mercedes-Benz has released another teaser photo of the electric-car concept it will reveal next week at the Frankfurt auto show. That vehicle will be the Mercedes EQA Concept, a compact electric hatchback that's one of several concepts that preview future products as the company...
John Voelcker -
Which company's electric-car success will surprise us? Take our Twitter pollSometimes the competition among global automakers can seem like watching a professional sports league. Powerhouse teams—GM, Renault Nissan, Toyota, VW Group, the four largest global makers—compete against each other as well as against smaller, scrappier upstarts with devoted and loyal...
John Voelcker -
Mercedes plant to make batteries, electric motors after 113 years of enginesThe first vehicle in history considered to be an automobile was the Benz Motorwagen of 1885. It was also the first vehicle from an automaker that has been around for the duration of the industry: we know it today as Mercedes-Benz. In other words, the company has been building cars for 132 years...
Sean Szymkowski -
Used diesel demand drops in Germany over fear of software upgradesDiesel-powered cars, long a staple on European roads, are starting to lose favor as million of dollars of inventory begins to pile up in used diesel models. The inventory, largely recent models certified under the superseded Euro-5 emission standards, has boomed recently over the possibility the...
Sean Szymkowski -
Almost two years ago, the Volkswagen diesel emission scandal burst into public view, and nothing has been quite the same since then. The news that VW Group engineers had deliberately cheated on eight years of emission tests for the "clean diesels" sold by Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche sent shockwaves around the world. Settling the criminal charges in the U.S. for almost 600,000 diesel vehicles has cost VW more than $25 billion, but multiple European investigations remain underway. DON'T MISS: Audi, Mercedes now updating European diesels for emissions; more to come? Only this year did European...
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Mercedes, Porsche to join Audi, BMW, Jaguar, Renault in Formula E racingThe changing of the guards in motor racing is underway: both Porsche and Mercedes-Benz have announced they will join the FIA Formula E electric-car racing series in 2019. To make that possible, both German teams will end their tenures in respected motorsport; Porsche will end its World Endurance...
Sean Szymkowski -
Next Mercedes-Benz small cars to get even tinier enginesNot so many years ago, a 1.2-liter engine would only have been found in the U.S. in the smallest and least impressive of subcompact cars. It might have been a 3-cylinder, and certainly wouldn't have had even 100 horsepower. But times change, and engines of that size will soon be found even in the...
John Voelcker -
Audi, Mercedes now updating European diesels for emissions; more to come?Both Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler and Volkswagen Group have approved new plans to retrofit older diesel-powered vehicles with new software at no cost to owners. The largest number of such cars will be in Europe. The news comes amid the latest allegations surrounding German automakers and their...
Sean Szymkowski -
EU investigating diesel collusion among Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, VW: reportAs numerous political probes over the years have famously shown, once investigators dig into the circumstances around an alleged crime, anything can happen. The September 2015 announcement by the EPA that VW Group engineers had admitted to deliberate cheating on U.S. emission tests of the company's...
John Voelcker -
Mercedes to show all-electric hatchback concept this fall, countering Audi: reportGerman luxury carmakers often follow each other's product plans in something close to lockstep. Let one maker—BMW, say—introduce a new category of vehicle—sport utility "coupes," say—and soon Mercedes-Benz and Audi will have their own too. And the premium brands appear to be...
John Voelcker -
It's not only electric cars: China is also now the world's largest market for luxury cars. Audi got an early foothold among party officials and high-ranking government officials, but the allure of global brands has ensured that Mercedes-Benz and BMW sell lots of cars there as well. Now, Mercedes parent company Daimler is combining its local manufacturing operations with plans for electric cars. DON'T MISS: China will have lots of electric cars, but no maker knows what market wants The company has announced it will build electric cars in the Mercedes-Benz factory it operates with its partner...
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German electric-car industry centers in 'Silicon Saxony'Silicon Valley seems to grab many of the tech headlines in the United States, especially when it comes to autonomous vehicles, cars that plug in, and the future of transportation. Electric-car maker Tesla has undeniably contributed to Silicon Valley's automotive chops, but other makers are working...
Sean Szymkowski -
Mercedes launches home energy-storage battery, echoing TeslaAs Tesla regularly points out, the lithium-ion battery cells used in electric cars can also serve in home energy-storage units. Now, a Daimler company will go up against Tesla in that field under the branding of its most famous luxury-car make. Mercedes-Benz Energy announced yesterday that it is...
Zach Bowman -
British magazine gets ride in all-electric Mercedes EQ ConceptMercedes-Benz has big plans for electric vehicles in the future, but its main nod to what those plans will bring thus far is the EQ Concept. Shown at the Paris Motor Show last year, the vehicle represents a conceptual version of the first of many electric vehicles to come from the Germany luxury...
Sean Szymkowski -
Mercedes denies CEO said it will turn away from hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles (updated)Large global automakers customarily pursue research into multiple types of technologies and future powertrains at the same time. Sometimes they pan out, sometimes they don't. German automakers have only really come around to devoting their efforts to plug-in electric cars in the last five or six...
John Voelcker -
2017 Mercedes-Benz E300: gas mileage reviewThe Mercedes-Benz E-Class luxury sedan is hardly viewed as green, even if it'll soon have a plug-in hybrid version offered in small numbers. But driving the most recent generation provides a nice case study of the improvement in gas mileage over three decades of updates to the core product that...
John Voelcker -
Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler is speeding up its shift towards electrification. The auto-maker remains on track to bolster its portfolio with 10 electric vehicles, but they’ll arrive three full years sooner than expected. The battery-powered cars are now scheduled to debut by 2022 instead of by 2025, company officials have confirmed. That’s an ambitious goal, especially because the electric cars will use brand-new technology, but Daimler is investing 10 billion Euros (about $10.8 billion) to make it happen. DON'T MISS: Automakers ‘not even trying’ to sell...
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What Tesla hath wrought: bumper crop of luxury electric carsIt may have taken some time, but the auto industry is now reacting to Tesla in full force. More than four years after the first Tesla Model S was delivered, we are on the verge of a bumper crop of luxury electric cars. A mix of established automakers and startups looking to emulate Tesla's success...
Stephen Edelstein -
Which luxury brand will do best in electric cars? Poll resultsWithin the next two years we will see new all-electric luxury cars from Audi, BMW, Jaguar, and Mercedes-Benz appear in actual showrooms. All four of those makes have shown concepts for their pricey, 200-mile-plus electric cars, and most of them are expected to go on sale in the second half of next...
John Voelcker -
Daimler invests in ChargePoint to grow electric-car charging in Europe, joins BMWAs automakers produce electric cars in greater numbers, public charging infrastructure will become even more crucial to lure new buyers and convince them the cars can be practical. Some automakers have already invested in charging infrastructure, while others are just starting to contemplate public...
Stephen Edelstein -
Six new electric cars coming for 2018 and 2019The next couple of years promise to be quite interesting for electric cars. A minimum of six new models are expected in that time period, all promising ranges of 200 miles or more—which until a few months ago had been the exclusive province of Tesla Motors. The list includes two affordable...
Stephen Edelstein -
Daimler to build large electric semi truck; Urban e-Truck results good so farFollowing successful trials, Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler plans to produce a small run of all-electric large commercial trucks for the European market. These trucks will be made available to a small number of European test customers for 12-month trials, with the deliveries slated to begin later...
Stephen Edelstein