Mercedes Plug-in Hybrid Vans Now Made in Germany
Yahoo! Financial News relays word from the Chrysler Group. As of March 30, DaimlerChrysler officially is building Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles.
- DaimlerChrysler investigates plug-in technology with test fleet
- Dodge Sprinter Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) can drive up to 20 miles on electric only power
- Industry first PHEV combined with five cylinder diesel for maximum fuel efficiency
- Advanced battery research will help future hybrid development
CalCars Nooz also relayed the announcement.
AUBURN HILLS, Mich., March 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Up to 40 Dodge Sprinter Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) will be placed in operation with customers in California, Kansas City and New York among other locations within the United States. As part of a test fleet program DaimlerChrysler is placing the Dodge Sprinter PHEV with a variety of customers around the world. The company is the only auto manufacturer to investigate the feasibility of plug-in hybrid technology in real world tests.
Plug-in technology lends itself to commercial applications in which the vehicle returns to base after each shift to be plugged into the power grid but also works well in urban traffic situations for daily commuters.
Battery development is one of the keys to the success of hybrid transportation and PHEV’s yield valuable information through durability tests.
Based on Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicle technology, The Dodge Sprinter PHEV has the ability to drive up to 20 miles on electric only power. It accomplishes this with a switch on the dashboard giving the operator the ability to manually switch between modes as needed or automatically by the vehicle control system. Two different combustion engines are being mated to the PHEV system, a five cylinder diesel and a V6 gasoline. The diesel version will yield the highest fuel economy benefit and is the first fleet test of a diesel plug-in hybrid system.
Plug-in hybrid technology is part of DaimlerChrysler’s advanced propulsion technology umbrella, which also includes exceptionally efficient gasoline engines, advanced diesel technology, ethanol flex-fuel and zero-emission fuel cell vehicles.
Currently, DCX is the only manufacturer to offer a hybrid with the ability to plug into the Grid, what also is sometime referred to as GO-HEV (Gas Optional Hybrid Electric Vehicle) or gridable hybrid. Certainly, other manufacturers have the capability to produce such vehicles, particularly Ford and Toyota. Recently, Mitsubishi also has shown interest.
Nonetheless, as recently as April 2 (advanced notice from Felix Kramer), the New York Times quotes a Toyota representative as saying they are not ready:
“We think plug-in hybrids are an interesting concept, but the batteries aren’t ready,” said David Hermance, Toyota’s executive engineer for advanced technology vehicles.
The Esteemed Professor Fate as he recently appeared in the Wall Street Journal with his PHEV
To the story’s credit, immediately following the Toyota assertion is the contention by Dr. Andrew Frank that all of the technology is available today. Yes, DaimlerChrylser is the first major car maker to demonstrate such capability. Nonetheless, the esteemed Professor Fate and students at the UC-Davis Institute of Transportation Studies have built more than one prototype that can travel 60 miles on electric power alone.
The NYT reporter surmises that Toyota may have plug-in hybrid prototypes, but isn’t showing them. With the specific reference by Hermance to being unprepared battery-wise, there is some conjecture that Toyota may want to test their new advanced lithium batteries in various prototypes before marketing PHEVs.
The United States is unlikely to be the first test market. In Japan a Toyota Prius has a switch that enables it to be run on battery only, whereas such ability has to be hacked into a Toyota Prius available in the United States — “a big problem for engineers who, in effect, have to work around a sophisticated computer that wants to switch on the car’s gas engine. ‘You’re limited to what you can do if you don’t have the source code,’ Mr. Hermance of Toyota conceded. ‘You have to try and trick the computer.’”
Thanks to Bill Moore for a lead on the charge! And, WattHead proves to be correct in the prediction that Sprinter likely would be the first PHEV to hit the market.
Now inquiring minds want to know whether Ford has the wherewithal to produce a plug-in, flex-fuel passenger car in the near future, in Mankato or somewhere else in the world.
Note: Again the technology exists, Ford announced a flex-fuel version of its Escape Hybrid and HyMotion just demonstrated that an Escape Hybrid could be converted to a PHEV just as CalCars demonstrated with a Toyota Prius. The question is whether the City of Corpus Christi will be adding Dodge PHEV Sprinters to their fleet before a PHEV from Ford-Mazda-Volvo is ready for the mayor to drive?
3 Comments
Felix Kramer points to another story in which Dave Hermance, executive engineer for advanced vehicle technology at Toyota, is quoted as saying “the lithium ion batteries needed to make plug-ins work could take 10 years or more to develop.”
when will this car be avable in the usa.
A good question to ask a DaimlerChrysler salesperson… My impression is that they soon (e.g., four to six months) will be available to select commercial, governmental and military fleet customers. Those are the type of “soft orders” actively being sought by Plug-in Partners. The passenger carrying version seems suitable for a cheaper to run, lower emissions, airport bus.
Dodge Sprinter vans without a plug are currently for sale. I would imagine that DCX wants more case-based experience before putting the PHEV Sprinters in the hands of the general public. One reason is the Brusa charger is 220 VAC rather than standard household current. Another is knowing how much abuse the battery system can take with a good battery management system.
An alternative for now would be add an Hy-Drive Hydrogen Generating System to a diesel commercial van.
On the other hand, if you are asking about a plug-in, hybrid passenger car, then join the crowd.
3 Trackbacks
[...] “While big automakers have been slow to respond to the plug-in concept,” writes Lurie, “a few enterprising entrepreneurs have taken up the challenge.” The inference is that all big automakers have yet to respond. While perhaps for the moment still true for Toyota, the story fails to inform its audience that Mercedes has begun building PHEVs. [...]
[...] Another approach, put forward by the Atlas Project of the European Network of Energy Agencies, is use of combine cycles producing fuel plus heat / electricity. Sound economic modeling is necessary to make wise choices in energy policy. Only recently did Mercedes announce that it had begun production of a plug-in hybrid commercial van, which seems to straddle two rides: electric drive and biofueled internal combustion engines. [...]
[...] Agreed. Where’s the plug, car makers? The exceptions we know: electric conversions and now the Mercedes Sprinter Plug-in Hybrid Van. [...]