| Vito E-Cell vans cover 650,000 km in customer use |
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18/01/2012 03:49 (133 Day 10:48 minutes ago) | |||||
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The FINANCIAL -- Quiet, emissions-free and practical – 100 battery-driven electric Mercedes-Benz Vito E-CELL vans have proven their worth in customer use in Berlin and Stuttgart, according to Daimler.
The world’s first van fitted with an electric drive system ex factory has been taking to the roads in the German capital since autumn 2010, and in Stuttgart since the beginning of 2011. The two projects, each with 50 Vito E-CELLs, are intended to run over a period of four years. The final reports scheduled for the end of the promotional period indicate a positive result: the Vito E-CELL is ideally suited to use on inner-city routes.
The vehicle has made the vision of emissions-free driving in commercial traffic a reality. A total of 230 Vito E-CELL vans are now in use in several model regions.The projects serve to demonstrate how the automotive industry, together with commercial enterprises, energy suppliers and policy makers, can work together to provide crucial impetus to advance electric mobility in Germany. The German Federal Ministry for the Environment and Nature Conservation is lending its support to the Electrification of Mercedes-Benz Small Vans in Development and Production project in Berlin.
In Stuttgart, the Integrated Concept for Sustainable Electric Mobility project is being funded by the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development. The two promotional initiatives are part of the German federal government’s second economic stimulus package.Mercedes-Benz and energy suppliers Vattenfall and EnBW have begun the implementation of new technologies in vehicles and their charging systems at both locations. The energy suppliers, for instance, have now provided charging stations to operators at their depots. The batteries of Vito E-CELL vans are recharged at these locations outside of operating hours.
Intelligent charging technology is used, based on the Smart Charge Communication Unit in the Vito E-CELL. The technology optimises the CO2 balance of the vans with certified green electricity, or even surplus wind energy. The charging technology can also be programmed to lower electricity tariffs to impact operating costs favourably. Where operators use several Vito E-CELL vans, the charging procedures are graded through a process of local charge management to ensure that the grid capacity is not overextended.
Mercedes-Benz delivered the first vehicles for field testing to testing partners in Berlin at the beginning of September 2010, and in Stuttgart in January 2011. The areas of application are highly diverse: courier, express and package service providers , plant transportation in large corporations, service vehicles for plant maintenance, customer service, and assembly and internal transport within companies.
The varied topography was a key factor in the selection of the regions. In contrast to the largely flat terrain of the greater Berlin area, the differences in elevation within the Stuttgart metropolitan area are as much as 350 meters, which presents a real stamina test for the range, recuperation performance and drive properties of the Vito E-CELL.
In both regions, the drivers’ assessment of the Vito E-CELL has been highly positive. Characteristics of drive performance, tractive force, steady acceleration without shifting gears and continuous braking were all rated favourably. Drivers also praised the quiet running. The sole drawback of a quiet drive system is that other road users do not always hear the van approaching; according to driver opinion, this necessitates increased attentiveness and an especially anticipatory driving style.
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