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Daimler Developing a Luxury Electric Car
Daimler AG tells Germany's Auto Motor und Sport that its Mercedes-Benz Cars unit is developing a luxury electric vehicle to compete with the Tesla Model S electric sedan.
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Daimler AG tells Germany's Auto Motor und Sport that its Mercedes-Benz Cars unit is developing a luxury electric vehicle to compete with the Tesla Model S electric sedan.
Product development head Thomas Weber says the vehicle is an "intelligent concept" that will be able to travel 400 km-500 km per charge. He says the new model will debut "soon," according to the German magazine.
Daimler acquired a 9.1% stake in Tesla in 2009 and used the American company's battery cells and several other powertrain components in its Mercedes B-Class Electric Drive MPV. Ties between the companies have since waned, and Daimler sold its stake in Tesla last year.
Last month sources told Auto Motor und Sport that Daimler was developing an updated version of its B-Class EV that will offer a range of 500 km per charge, more than double the current model. The sources said Mercedes would use its own electric powertrain and plans to drop Tesla as a source of batteries for another external supplier.
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