Mercedes Kills its Only EV

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    Automotive News reports that Mercedes has officially made the decision to stop production of the electric B-Class. Production will be phased out within the next few months, according to Mercedes USA spokesman Rob Moran.
    This means that, despite big talk from Mercedes about future EV plans, including their recent jump into Formula E, adding battery production to factories, and rumors of future EV models from their new EQ sub-brand, the company will no longer produce any battery-electric model for the time being.

    The B-class EV was originally a collaboration between Mercedes and Tesla. Mercedes, who used to be a big investor in Tesla but has since sold their stake, used a Tesla drive system to power the car. The model did have some problems, including a large recall due to problems with the Tesla drive system, which could have been solved through an over-the-air software update – if the car were capable of it like Tesla’s own vehicles.

    But the main problem with B-Class EV sales is that Mercedes never really tried very hard to sell it. In the same way many manufacturers handle their electric models, the B-Class was treated as a “compliance car” by Mercedes. It was originally only offered in states with ZEV mandates, as a way to offset Mercedes’ more polluting offerings. And Mercedes sold very few of the electric model – reportedly only 3,651 since December 2013. These were valuable sales for the company given the necessity of attaining ZEV credits so they can continue their business of selling gas-powered cars, but it is apparent they spent very little effort on it.

    Daimler, Mercedes’ parent company, also used to use Tesla drive systems in the second-generation smart ED. There have been three generations of electric smart cars, with a fourth due very soon. Daimler has even stated that in North America, the entire smart brand will go all-electric later this year.

    But as of now, there is no current electric smart model being sold in the USA , Which means that Daimler as a whole has no current electric model.
    They have a lot of talk about future models (which, to be fair, seems relatively credible at least compared to my impressions of the efforts of their countrymen), and a small graveyard of former attempts.


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