At the IAA Mobility in Munich, German car manufacturers BMW and Mercedes-Benz tried to present a technological breakthrough that would allow them to close the gap with Tesla, at least in their usual price range, for the next few years. They are based on fundamentally new platforms that are initially optimized for the production of electric vehicles.
Image source: Mercedes-Benz
As you know, the problem for manufacturers of classic cars with internal combustion engines has been to ensure a smooth transition from today’s drive types to purely electric drives. At the same time, design machines with internal combustion engines have a number of design limitations that prevent the creation of an optimal electric vehicle. If you build an electric car without considering this heritage, you can achieve significantly higher efficiency of the power plant.
This is clearly demonstrated by the Mercedes-Benz CLA concept, which is based on an MMA platform that is new to the company. The high efficiency of the power plant components, including new-generation traction batteries, in combination with the aerodynamic shape of the body enable an impressive energy efficiency of 12 kWh of electricity consumption per 100 km route. In fact, with an industry-standard 90kWh battery, a sedan has the ability to travel up to 750km without recharging. This is 30-35% more than current electric vehicles and could be the key to success for Mercedes-Benz in this market segment.
The CEO of the company Ola Kallenius (Ola Kallenius) declared in general terms ReutersWhat “Efficiency will be the new currency in the electric vehicle market”. In terms of fuel efficiency, the Mercedes-Benz CLA achieves one liter per 100 kilometers, and this figure is well known to most modern car owners. According to the company boss, in order to achieve a high level of efficiency in electric vehicles, it is necessary to optimize the entire system. The possibility of refilling a range of 400 km in 15 minutes at express charging stations is also a revolutionary breakthrough for Mercedes-Benz, explained the Chairman of the Board of Management. “I don’t know of any comparable vehicle” he said.
Image source: BMW
BMW, in turn, will increase the share of electric vehicles in the structure of its global sales to 15% by the end of this year and their sales are expected to double. By 2025, the production of BMW electric vehicles is scheduled to begin on a new platform, the conceptual representative of which was presented last week.
Also representatives of Mercedes-Benz explainedthat the company will not be able to reduce the variable costs of manufacturing electric vehicles to the levels inherent in internal combustion engine cars in the coming years. At the same time, the company believes it is wrong to pass these costs on to consumers. In the coming years, electric vehicles will be more expensive to produce than classic cars, which poses a challenge for market participants in terms of increasing profit margins. Mercedes-Benz is trying to reduce the cost of traction batteries, software development and the energy used to produce cars. At the same time, the company will not produce extremely cheap electric vehicles and believes it is important to maintain a reasonable profit margin.
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