Mercedes

While Mercedes has introduced several plug-in hybrid powertrains in its lineup, the German automaker has not been pushing very hard on the all-electric front. The company never built an electric car from the ground up and its only battery-powered vehicles were built on existing model platforms (A Class and B Class) with drivetrains developed in partnership with Tesla.

But earlier this year, the company announced a change in direction and greenlighted 4 new all-electric cars for production. Now we learn that the company is set to unveil the first of 4 models later this year at the Paris Motor Show.
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Last year, famous Silicon Valley venture capitalist and early Tesla investor Steve Juvertson recalled a conversation he had with Uber CEO Travis Kalanick:

Travis recently told me that in 2020, if Telsas are autonomous, he’d want to buy all of them. He said all 500,000 of estimated 2020 production, I’d want them all, but he couldn’t get a return call from Elon.

Well apparently Kalanick couldn’t wait any longer and reportedly already placed an order for 100,000 autonomous Mercedes S-Class sedans, according to sources inside Daimler and Uber talking to German magazine Manager Magazin. 
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SK Innovation, a battery cell maker part of the South Korea-based chemical and energy conglomerate SK, confirmed (via GreenCarCongress) that it has been selected as the supplier of battery cells for Mercedes’ upcoming line of electric vehicles.

Last month, Daimler green-lighted 4 new long-range electric vehicles, which will reportedly be two sedans and two crossover SUVs. The automaker will need an important volume of battery cells if it plans to manufacture these upcoming vehicles in significant volume.
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Daimler made an interesting announcement today. The German automaker introduced a new “lead by example” policy to make electric vehicles the standard company cars for its senior management. The vehicle lineup will primarily consist of Mercedes’ plug-in hybrid vehicles, but also some all-electric vehicles will be made available.

The automaker also announced a 30 million euros investment into extending the company’s own charging infrastructure across its facilities in order to facilitate the new program.
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Mercedes unveiled its new 2017 E-Class at the 2016 Detroit Auto Show this week and announced the details of its new plug-in hybrid powertrain option: 350e.  While Mercedes is working on 4 new all-electric vehicles to be released before the end of the decade, the automaker is introducing more electric hybrid powertrains in its established lineup of luxury vehicles and the 350e is the first we get to see.
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Mercedes is not just watching on the sidelines while Tesla steals market shares from its segment, and while Porsche and Audi announces upcoming electric vehicles. According to a new report from Car Magazine, the legendary German automaker recently greenlighted 4 new electric cars.
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NHTSA submitted a recall report earlier this week for Daimler to recall all Mercedes electric B-Class over a problem with Tesla’s drivetrain. The report, which we embed below, perfectly highlights the need for over-the-air updates across the whole automotive industry. According to the filing, the recall is due to a problem with the gateway software of the electric powertrain, which is supplied by Tesla Motors, and affects all 2,618 Mercedes electric B-Class produced between November 2013 and May 2015.
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I thought that Mercedes’ recently unveiled IAA concept was weird-looking, but it has nothing on the German automaker’s new “Vision Tokyo” which it introduced today at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show.

The concept is equipped with “fuel cell-powered electric drive system”, which consists of an electric motor powered by both a battery pack and pressure tanks of hydrogen with fuel cells.
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Mercedes unveiled an interesting new concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show: a sedan which can change its features automatically from design mode to aerodynamic mode once it reaches a speed of 80 km/h (50 mph). The concept is called the IAA, which stands for Intelligent Aerodynamic Automobile, not to be confused with Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung (IAA), also known as the Frankfurt Motor Show, at which the concept is being unveiled.
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In an interview with German magazine Auto Motor und Sport, Daimler’s chief of research and development Thomas Weber confirmed the company is currently working on a next generation electric vehicle with a range of “400 to 500 km” (250 to 310 miles).

Daimler already sells a few electric vehicles, like EV versions of the Smart or the Mercedes B class, but the automaker as yet to build a fully electric vehicle from the ground up. It’s not entirely clear from Weber’s comments if the concept will be a completely new electric platform, but it sounds more likely than not…
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According to a new report from a German publication, Auto Motor und Sport, Mercedes will not use Tesla’s drivetrain for the next generation of electric B-Class. Mercedes will bring more development in-house to try to achieve a range of 500 km (311 miles). It’s not clear when the next generation is due.

Tesla Motors has a long-standing partnership with the German automaker. In 2009, Daimler, the company behind the Mercedes brand, acquired a ~10% stake in Tesla. Tesla started supplying electric drivetrains to Daimler for the Smart EV and then later on developed a new electric motor and battery pack for Mercedes’ B-Class which started deliveries late last year. 
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