Mercedes's most affordable sedan will be electric

Mercedes-Benz said Thursday that the latest version of his less expensive sedan would be available first as a fully electric car and then as a hybrid. And the company will no longer sell a car version only for gasoline.

It is a great rest of how Mercedes and other established car manufacturers have typically operated. Until recently, most car manufacturers adapted vehicles designed for fossil fuels to be fed by batteries. The Mercedes sedan, the CL, which the company revealed in Rome with rapper Will.i.am, is an example of how at least some established cars manufacturers are developing electric cars first, then adapting them to customers who still want a gasoline engine.

The CL, the first of more than two dozen Mercedes vehicles that will use the same basic technology, is a sign that many world cars manufacturers are giving priority to electric vehicles, even when Republicans in the United States try to retreat the legislation of the Biden era that was destined to promote battery technology.

However, in the face of the uncertain demand for unpredictable electric vehicles and government policies, Mercedes is moderating its bets by offering hybrids, which combine traditional gasoline engines with relatively small batteries and electric motors.

“If the world is not an dominant electricity for 2030, we as Mercedes-Benz, as a established manufacturer, we cannot get away from an important part of our income,” said Ola Källenius, executive director of Mercedes, in an interview in Rome. “Then, in fact, you could call it coverage.”

Mercedes did not reveal a price for the new CLA, but said it would be affordable for the owners of the current version, which starts at $ 45,000 in the United States. Finally, some of the car components will be used in sports utility vehicles and a truck.

The company decided to introduce the fully electric CLA in the belief that advances in technology are addressing the reasons why people hesitate to buy electric cars, including the inappropriate driving range between the positions and the time to refuel.

“We have addressed all that with the new CLA,” said Markus Schäfer, a member of the Mercedes Management Board responsible for technology, during a meeting with journalists.

Some versions of the CLA can travel almost 500 miles between loads, and when high voltage loaders are used can add more than 200 miles of rank in 10 minutes. The hybrid version will obtain most of its energy from a gasoline engine, but you can travel short distances only in battery energy.

The United States, where the car will be available at the end of the year, is critical for Mercedes, which produces sports utility vehicles in Alabama. But China, where electric and plug -in hybrid vehicles represent more than half of new car sales, is the largest automotive market in the world and sets more and more tone for the industry.

Like almost all foreign car manufacturers, Mercedes has seen their sales fall in China as customers change to electric vehicles built by national manufacturers such as Byd.

Sales of electric vehicles increased by 35 percent in China in January and February of the previous year, according to Rho Motion, a research firm. That compares with 20 percent increases in Europe and 20 percent in the United States and Canada. The figures include plug -in hybrid vehicles.

The growth of sales in the United States has accelerated this year, possibly because people buy electric vehicles, while they can still collect tax credits of up to $ 7,500, that republican leaders in Congress have said they have the intention of abolishing.

The new Clar illustrates the rapid progress that car manufacturers are doing in battery technology. It is the first vehicle sold by Mercedes with a battery in which part of the graphite has been replaced by silicon oxide. The switch helps increase the amount of energy that the battery can contain, extending the range of the car.

Cars also show how artificial intelligence infiltrates cars. The drivers can ask the car to find a charger that is close, say, a good Italian restaurant.

Among the applications on the digital board of the vehicle is Raidio.fyi, created by Will.i.am, who is a software entrepreneur in addition to leading black -eyed peas.

The service uses artificial intelligence to allow people to ask questions during programming, a kind of personalized radio.

“You could ask: 'Hey, so Rihanna has a makeup line that I heard. Can you tell me where to buy it depending on where I am now? And she has a product for my cocoa skin complexion? '”, Said Will.i.am in the Mercedes event. “And it will guide you and tell you where it is.”