As a partner in the "Electric mobility model region Stuttgart" research programme, Mercedes-Benz is continually driving forward the development of battery-powered vans. Our van customers could soon be benefiting from the results of this research initiative: the Vito E-CELL is scheduled from the middle of 2011 to be the first purely electric-powered Mercedes-Benz van available ex factory.
The drive system of the Vito E-CELL is based purely on battery-powered electrical operation, and does without the powertrain designed for combustion engines. This should give rise to multiple benefits: purely electrically-powered driving is quiet, highly efficient and locally emission-free. Over and above this, the energy used in the vehicle is not linked directly to the production of that energy, which makes it possible to choose freely amongst the various energy sources available. The Vito E-CELL’s electric motor has a maximum output of over 90 kW.
The lithium ion battery in the Vito E-CELL can be loaded from 0 to 100 % in about 6 hours. The useable capacity of 32 kWh is sufficient to cover journeys of up to 100 kilometers on a daily basis. As a result, the Vito E-CELL is ideal for urban short-radius distribution with average daily distances of 40 to 80 km. As the brakes recover part of the braking energy in the drive battery (a process known as regenerative braking), short-radius distribution - with its high braking frequency - is the ideal field of deployment for battery-powered electric vehicle.
