Mercedes-Benz has announced a new wallbox electric charger, which will enter the market later this year. The next-gen home charging unit for plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles now comes encased in a more elegantly designed housing with improved cable management.
Three versions will be available – a basic Wallbox Home, an internet-capable Wallbox Advanced and a Wallbox Twin, for charging two vehicles at the same time. New features include considerably faster charging than available from a domestic wall socket, with the ability to now fast charge at rates of up to 22 kW.
The improved capability is in line with that announced by the automaker for its new on-board charger found in its third-generation plug-in hybrids. The unit was first seen on the GLC F-Cell and S 560 e in Frankfurt last year.
The new on-board charger can now take a charging rate of 7.2 kW, double that of the 3.6 kW previously. Essentially, this allows a vehicle to be fully recharged in two hours via the wallbox, up to four times faster than with a domestic wall socket.
The intelligent Advanced and Twin wallboxes are internet-capable, with a built-in electricity meter and allow access control by RFID (radio frequency identification). The intelligent, connected variant of the wallbox will make for easier charging while offering a series of additional functions via a new smartphone app, with available parameters including charging control, user management and consumption overview.
The units offer the ability to manage several vehicles individually, and the automaker says that there is no need for expensive upgrading of the existing house connection even if several wallboxes are installed, thanks to intelligent sharing of charging power through local load management. With the Wallbox Twin, two vehicles can be charged simultaneously from the same wallbox, each with up to 11 kW.
The Home and Advanced wallboxes will be available to European customers from the middle of the year, with the Twin variant coming slightly later. The wallbox will eventually be available in more than 40 other markets globally.
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Looks like a wall mounted water heater unit… with internet.
good with internet-capable charger now we can download more battery =P