Until recently, Mercedes-Benz has not been serious about manufacturing and marketing hybrid cars. In 2010 the company sold just over one thousand hybrid units, representing only 0.6% of the overall hybrid market. To put this in perspective, as of August 2009, the Toyota Prius had already sold 787,200 units.
Mercedes showcased its S-Class plug-in hybrid concept at the 2009 Frankfurt motor show. They currently offer the S400 Hybrid sedan and ML450 Hybrid SUV.
Despite these meager hybrid offerings, Mercedes has very ambitious plans for greener cars in the future. Dr. Christian Mohrdieck, Daimler’s director of fuel cell and battery-drive development, told HybridCars.com that Daimler, the maker of Mercedes-Benz vehicles, is making a big investment in hybrids. “In the future, we will have hybrid models in all our car lines,” Mohrdieck said.
Mercedes is planning to make hybrids available in the E-Class, C-Class, R-Class, and M-Class vehicles. Mercedes is also planning to launch diesel-hybrids and plug-in hybrids in America.
© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.
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