Mercedes-Benz said on Thursday that the latest version of the least expensive sedan would first be available as a fully electric car and then as a hybrid. And the company will no longer sell a gasoline version of the car.
That is a big break of how Mercedes and other established car manufacturers have usually operated on. Until recently, most car manufacturers adapted vehicles that are designed for fossil fuels that had to be driven by batteries. The Mercedes Sedan, the CLA, which the company in Rome has unveiled with the rapper Will.i.am, is an example of how at least some established car manufacturers first develop electric cars and then adjust for customers who still want a gasoline engine.
The CLA, the first of more than two dozen Mercedes vehicles that will use the same basic technology, is a sign that many global car manufacturers give a priority to electric vehicles, even while Republicans in the United States try to return from the Biden era legislation intended to promote battery technology.
Yet confronted with an uncertain demand for electric vehicles and unpredictable government policy, Mercedes temperes its bets by offering hybrids that link traditional gasoline engines to relatively small batteries and electric motors.
“If the world is not dominant by 2030, we as a Mercedes-Benz as an established manufacturer are not away from a considerable part of our income,” said Ola Kälenius, the Chief Executive of Mercedes, in an interview in Rome. “So indeed, you could call it a hedge.”
Mercedes has not announced the new CLA, but said it would be affordable for owners of the current version, which starts at $ 45,000 in the United States. Ultimately, some components of the car will be used in sports tools and a station wagon.
The company first decided to introduce the fully electric CLA in the conviction that progress in technology tackles the reasons that people hesitate to buy electric cars, including insufficient Driving series between costs and time to refuel.
“We all tackled that with the new CLA,” said Markus Schäfer, a member of the Mercedes Management Board who is responsible for technology, during a meeting with reporters.
Some versions of the CLA can travel almost 500 miles between loads, and when using high -voltage loaders, more than 200 miles can add in 10 minutes. The hybrid version receives the majority of its power from a gasoline engine, but can only cover battery power.
The United States, where the car will be available at the end of the year, is crucial for Mercedes, which produces sports vehicles in Alabama. But China, where electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles are good for more than half of the new car sales, is the world's largest car market and is increasingly seting the tone for industry.
Like almost all foreign car manufacturers, Mercedes has seen his turnover fall in China while customers switch to electric vehicles built by domestic manufacturers such as BYD.
The sale of electric vehicles increased by 35 percent in China from a year earlier, according to RHO Motion, a research agency. Compared to increases increases in Europe and 20 percent in the United States and Canada. The figures include plug-in hybrid vehicles.
The revenue growth in the United States is accelerated this year, possibly because people buy electric vehicles, while they can still collect tax credits of a maximum of $ 7,500, of which the Republican leaders in the congress have said they are planning to abolish.
The new CLA illustrates that the rapid progress that car manufacturers make in battery technology. It is the first vehicle that is sold by Mercedes with a battery in which part of the graphite has been replaced by silicon oxide. The switch helps to increase the amount of energy that the battery can retain, extending the range of the car.
The cars also show how artificial intelligence cars infiltrates. Drivers can ask the car to find a charger that is, for example, a good Italian restaurant.
Among the apps in the digital dashboard of the vehicle is Raidio.fyi, made by Will.i.am, who is a software entrepreneur, in addition to leading the Black Eyed Peas.
The service uses artificial intelligence to let people ask while programming, a kind of personalized call-in radio.
'You could ask:' Hey, so Rihanna has a make -up line that I have heard. Can you tell me where to buy it based on where I am now? And does she have products for my cocoa hide? “Will.i.am said at the Mercedes event. “And it will guide you and tell you where it is.”
