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With the first battery-electric van to be
introduced ex factory by any automobile manufacturer, Mercedes-Benz is
opening a new chapter in drive technology for light commercial vehicles.
Thanks to its emission-free drive system, the Mercedes-Benz Vito E-CELL
is ideally suitable for inner-city operations and for particularly
environmentally sensitive areas. The Vito E-CELL operates with no
emissions and almost silently, and imposes no restrictions on the
operator in terms of load capacity and payload. Production of a small
series of 100 Vito E-CELL vans has already commenced this year, and a
further 2000 units are planned from 2011. |
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Quiet, emission-free driving in
environmentally sensitive areas
Deliveries to inner-city areas and
pedestrian precincts, operations in areas with rigorous access
restrictions, in-company transport in production shops, delivery access
via underground car parks – the quiet, emission-free Mercedes-Benz Vito
E-CELL with its purely battery-electric drive system is the perfect
answer to the question of delivery operations in environmentally
sensitive areas. Moreover, the Vito E-CELL is not only able to carry out
its transport assignments in areas with high exhaust pollution, but also
where there are noise restrictions protecting e.g. health resorts or in
residential areas with night-time driving bans. |
In response to the growing
environmental burden in the densely populated areas of Europe and other
regions of the world, the relevant authorities are increasingly
introducing vehicle access restrictions in the form of environmental
zones based on emissions or with time constraints. Emission-free
vehicles with electric drive are usually exempted. Accordingly the Vito
E-CELL is eminently suitable for environmentally sensitive areas, both
in commercial and public service operations, and in many areas of the
service sector including e.g. parcel and postal deliveries, maintenance
work and for other service providers.
There are also numerous incentive
schemes for the purchase of emission-free vehicles. These are available
in many countries and take widely different forms, ranging from direct
purchasing subsidies to significant reductions in toll charges or
vehicle taxes and exemption from access restrictions.
The Vito E-CELL is also considerably
less expensive to operate. A comparison between the current diesel price
and the cost of electrical power shows a factor of four to seven. This
means that for the same driving distance, a Vito powered by an internal
combustion engine incurs four to seven times the costs of a Vito E-CELL
recharged overnight with low-priced off-peak power.
In densely populated areas the
future belongs to electric drive
Experts are convinced that in highly
populated areas with dense infrastructures, where exhaust and noise
pollution levels are high, the future belongs to electrically powered
vehicles. Additional incentives include a sense of responsibility on the
part of businesses and not least the public relations effect of "clean"
drive systems.
Another motivating factor for the
development of vehicles with electric drive is the conservation of
finite resources such as oil, as well as the political will for greater
independence where energy supplies are concerned.
As a pioneer in automobile development
and production, Mercedes-Benz has the stated aim of safeguarding and
shaping the mobility of the future on a sustainable basis with
innovative technologies. The focus is on ecologically justifiable drive
technologies such as those collectively termed BlueEFFICIENCY at
Mercedes-Benz. The clear objective is emission-free driving, and
Mercedes-Benz Vans has come another step closer to this goal with the
Vito E-CELL.
All good things come in threes:
vans with diesel, gas and battery- electric drive
The Vito E-CELL rounds off the wide
range of environmentally compatible vans bearing the Mercedes star to
form an ecological trio catering for practically all conceivable
operations from specialised short-range to extreme long-distance
transport. The lineup has continuously further developed and now almost
perfected internal combustion engine systems, natural gas and LPG drive
systems, and now purely electric drive.
Powerful electric motor with
high drive torque
In place of the usual four and
six-cylinder engines plus peripheral units of the Vito, the engine cover
of the Vito E-CELL conceals the electric motor and its ancillary
systems. The electric motor, a permanent synchronous unit, develops a
continuous output of 60 kW and a peak output of 70 kW. Maximum torque is
280 Nm.
As the full torque is inherently
available right from the start in electric motors, the Vito E-CELL
delivers dynamic performance at the familiar, high level of modern
diesel engines. In view of the typical operating profile for the Vito
E-CELL, and in the interests of maximising the operating range of the
batteries, the van's top speed is limited to 80 km/h.
Power is transferred to the front
wheels via a single-speed transmission. This efficient unit was likewise
developed specifically for the Vito E-CELL.
Mercedes-Benz will have built the small
series of 100 vans at the Vitoria plant by the late autumn of this year.
The next steps are already scheduled: a further 2000 units are already
planned from 2011.
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