Mercedes-Benz could well be the first automaker to offer a combustion-engined car with a 100-km pure electric range when it introduces the W167 GLE plug-in hybrid in the second half of next year, Automotive News reports.
Daimler’s head of group research and Mercedes-Benz cars development, Ola Kallenius said that the automaker was now in the generation where it was switching over from its 30 km-range hybrids to 50 km. “The GLE will be the first car with a 100-km range on a plug-in hybrid in the WLTP cycle,” he said.
However, when asked whether the GLE PHEV will get a diesel plug-in hybrid system to achieve the targeted range, Kallenius declined to specify. “We did not say that, but you shall see soon,” he said. The company plans to introduce diesels paired with its third-generation hybrid technology, which marks the first time it pairs a compression-ignition engine with plug-in capabilities.
Currently, most plug-in hybrid vehicles are typically engineered to achieve the certified 50 km e-range, because that’s the minimum required to qualify a vehicle as a New Energy Vehicle (a regulative policy set by the China government). This counts towards a carmaker’s EV credit rating under a new quota system that takes effect next year.
Beyond that, Mercedes-Benz will also electrify every single model it offers, beginning with the 48-volt mild hybrid system as the minimum. The automaker also revealed there will be a plug-in hybrid model for every combustion-engined vehicle, from the entry-level A-Class right up to the flagship S-Class. This is part of Daimler’s strategy to meet increasingly stringent fleet emissions targets.
Meanwhile, BMW also said it aims to develop plug-in hybrids with a maximum 100-km range in its upcoming fifth-generation eDrive system, which is said to debut in 2020. As of today, Audi’s Q7 e-tron 3.0 TDI quattro remains uncontested as the only SUV in its class to come with a diesel plug-in hybrid powertrain.
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
isit just me or? why behind look like mitsubishi’s?
Your pick bro either Mitsubishi or Kia.
Sharing PHEV tech across GeelyMerc group.
Hope no Geely fanboy will say this tech will be in all Proton cars cause same group
Later volvo sales man will say Merz,Geely, Volvo> all. Try to try people second grade Volvo and Gelly is same class as Merz.
No one said that. Only you. Come back to reality, ah boy.
With 100km range it’s now feasible to save fuel for city runs. Hopefully the tech will trickle down to smaller models soon
“Mercedes-Benz could well be the first automaker to offer a combustion-engined car with a 100-km pure electric range..” – this is a confusingly constructed sentence. A simpler way would be to say “.. the first plug-in hybrid with a pure electric range of up to 100km”
Kia designer join Mercedes?