Mercedes Benz

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

- Zero-emission vans becoming increasingly widespread
- Full-function van for everyday operations
- Up-to-the-minute powertrain engineering, powerful lithium-ion batteries

Vitoria, Spain, Feb 08, 2011 – The Mercedes-Benz Vito E-CELL is celebrating yet another premiere: the first van with an electromotive drive system to be produced by a car manufacturer ex factory is now taking to the roads outside Germany. As of today the first five vehicles are out and about on Spanish streets. The vehicles were handed over to the customer during a special ceremony at the Mercedes-Benz production location for the Vito E-CELL in Vitoria. In the presence of Basque Prime Minister López, the Head of Production for Mercedes-Benz Vans, Dr Heinrich Weiss and Jose Luis Lopez-Schummer Trevino, President of Mercedes-Benz Spain, presented the five Mercedes-Benz Vito E-CELL vehicles to Augustine Markaide, President of the supermarket chain Eroski. “The Vito E-CELL, which is now fully integrated in our series production, represents a completely new phenomenon. As far as process management is concerned, all the hurdles were overcome in record time!”, commented Dr Heinrich Weiss as the official hand-over of the keys took place.


Emission-free vans are becoming increasingly widespread in everyday road traffic

Having been put to use so successfully in the conurbations of Berlin and Stuttgart, the Vito E-CELL is now set to prove its suitability for everyday applications in Spain. Thanks to the Vito E-CELL, electromotively driven – and thus locally zero-emission, not to mention virtually silent – vans are now a reality in the Basque Country’s streetscape. So the Basque Country is not just the production location for these electromotive vehicles – it is also their area of operation. Further customers in major European cities will be taking delivery of their Vito E-CELL vehicles over the coming months.

Vito E-CELL: full-function van for everyday operations

The Vito E-CELL is not an experimental vehicle – it is a full-function van for day-to-day applications. It is the first van of its kind to roll off the series-production line, just like any other Vito. In close consultation with its customers, Mercedes-Benz has implemented the prerequisites for an electromotively driven van: with a payload of around 900 kilograms plus a load compartment with no restrictions on use whatsoever the Vito E-CELL assumes all the usual transportation duties of any vehicle in its class.

Up-to-the-minute powertrain engineering, powerful lithium-ion batteries

The Vito E-CELL’s batteries are stored in a space-saving manner beneath the load-compartment floor. They are state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries which are particularly powerful and have a high current capacity. They have an overall capacity of 36 kWh, sufficient for a range of some 130 kilometres. This means that the Vito E-CELL meets the average customer requirements for vans – around 50 to 80 kilometres per day – and still has a generous reserve.

The Vito E-CELL’s electric motor has an output of 60 kW and a torque of 280 Nm. As the full torque is available right from the start in the case of electric motors, the Vito E-CELL boasts a dynamic performance at the same high level as the latest diesel engines. Taking into consideration the Vito E-CELL’s usual area of operation and to facilitate the highest battery range possible, the van’s top speed is limited to 80 km/h.

Following on from the small series of 100 Mercedes-Benz Vito E-CELL vehicles which are now out and about in Berlin und Stuttgart, this ceremonial hand-over officially marks the start of the next series – encompassing over 2000 units.

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