Mercedes-Benz – engine for sustainable mobility today, tomorrow and the day after
BlueHybrid
Kuala Lumpur, 27 August 2009: As the inventor of the automobile, Mercedes-Benz accepts responsibility for its future. The three core aspects of development work on sustainable mobility are the optimisation of vehicles with state-of-the-art internal combustion engines, further efficiency improvements with tailor-made hybridization and local emission-free driving with fuel cell and battery-powered vehicles.
With 58 extremely fuel-efficient and clean BlueEFFICIENCY models – Mercedes-Benz offers a broad-ranging selection of premium vehicles that combine economy and environmental responsibility with safety, comfort and refined driving pleasure.
BluetecHybrid
The automobile of today occupies an extremely challenging position, whereby the demands made on its technology are increasingly stringent, multi-faceted and, at times, conflicting. Customers expect safe, comfortable and powerful vehicles that are also fuel-efficient and environmentally compatible. On top of that, dynamic growth in the global demand for mobility is faced with declining oil reserves, increasing energy prices and an ever stricter, yet internationally inconsistent, regulatory framework. Examples of this include the environmental zones already established in many cities and legislated quotas for emission-free vehicles. It is against this background that the automobile must be made fit for the future, because no other form of transport offers so much individual freedom as the car.
Concept BlueZero
Concept BlueZero
Multi-faceted solutions for complex task
The task faced by vehicle makers it highly complex. This is why Daimler and Mercedes-Benz experts believe that no single technology will represent the main route to sustainable mobility in future. Instead, for these multi-faceted demands, the company is offering equally multi-faceted, tailor-made solutions. Each of these technologies presents its benefits in terms of optimum fuel consumption and emissions figures in specific fields of operation. The approach here is – vehicle concepts with modular drive technologies that ensure the focus at Mercedes-Benz always remains on customer benefits and environmental compatibility in equal measure.
Mercedes-Benz – way ahead on the road to emission-free mobility
Future meets history the F-CELL Roadster and the first Benz Patent Motor Car
How do vehicle makers want to tackle the issue of “CO2 emissions”? Which drive technology is best suited to reduce fuel-consumption? And how can all of this be reconciled with the desire for safety, comfort and driving fun? Mercedes-Benz already provided many convincing answers to these questions, sending a clear signal on the subject of sustainable mobility that has received a great deal of attention worldwide. However, the development of the technical foundation for highly efficient and environmentally compatible vehicles extends much farther back. Examples of the innovative power of Mercedes-Benz include:
• the 300 SL as the first series production vehicle with a four-stroke engine to use petrol direct injection (1954)
• the first test vehicles to be powered by hydrogen (1975)
• the first hybrid bus – the Mercedes-Benz OE 305 with combined diesel/battery drive (1979)
• the first electric-powered passenger car test vehicle based on an E-Class estate (1982)
• the first fuel cell vehicle NECAR (New Electric Car) based on the MB 100 delivery van (1994)
• the introduction of CDI turbo diesel technology (1997)
• and the introduction of the first BlueTec commercial vehicle with the technology for the world’s cleanest diesel engines (2004)
Since then, Mercedes-Benz has been consistently pursuing the route to emission free mobility. All relevant technologies – from CDI and BLUETEC, through petrol direct injection (CGI) and hybridisation to battery and fuel cell drive – have been further developed and, in some cases, have already been in series production for years.
Diesels as clean as petrol engines, petrol engines as fuel-efficient as diesels
More Mercedes-Benz BlueTEC passenger cars are set to follow this year. All new BlueTEC models already fulfil the limits laid down in the EU-6 standard scheduled for 2014. Also in 2006, and in parallel to the optimisation of the diesel engine, Mercedes-Benz was the first vehicle maker to introduce extremely fuel-efficient piezo petrol direct injection with jet-guided combustion – in the CLS 350 CGI.
This technology represents a milestone in fuel efficiency and also brings considerable reductions in emissions. Mercedes-Benz has since introduced petrol direct injection into 4 and 6-cylinder engine versions of the C and E-Class. Progress is particularly evident in the newly introduced four-cylinder direct injection petrol engines in the latest E-Class. Despite their significantly smaller displacements, they generate more power than the preceding six-cylinder engines, yet consume up to 21 percent less fuel. This technology is being introduced successively across all petrol engines. Highly efficient CGI engines are now also available in the C-Class.
C 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY
The results speak for themselves – the new C 250 CGI BlueEFFICIENCY boasts a fuel consumption of only 7.2 at a power output of 150 kW/204 hp. Diesel versions start with fuel consumption as low as 4.8 litres per 100 kilometres in the C 220 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY. With a peak power output of 125 kW/170 hp and a maximum torque of 400 Nm, the most frugal C-Class of all time sets a new benchmark in fuel efficiency.
The objective of making petrol engines as fuel-efficient as diesels and diesels as clean as petrol engines, has already been achieved in many models. The account balance of BlueEFFICIENCY models currently stands at twelve models with a CO2 value below 140 grams per kilometre, 24 vehicles emit less than 160 grams per kilometre and a total of 36 models come in beneath 180 grams per kilometre. The new, extremely frugal CGI engines and the highly efficient BlueTEC exhaust gas treatment system contribute considerably to this result. In particular, the technology for the world’s cleanest diesels has laid the foundation for the future of economical, high-torque diesel engines in the U.S. Right now, state-of-the-art diesel technology is delivering its best fuel-consumption figures in large saloon cars and non-hybrid SUVs in particular.
Mercedes-Benz has at its disposal all the necessary conceptual and technological means for the systematic electrification of vehicles. This means that diesel and petrol engines – combined with efficient transmissions – will remain, as they have been for many decades, the backbone of road-going mobility around the globe.
S 400 BlueHYBRID (W221) 2008
Smart Electric drive
The combustion engine is irreplaceable for the foreseeable future
The application of state-of-the-art internal combustion engines with and without hybridisation is an indispensable option for the future. In the first instance, they are needed if only because electric drivelines cannot be produced in the required numbers and at the costs necessary for the high-volume segment in the short term. Therefore, the quality of combustion engines will also be a decisive factor in determining how much fuel can actually be saved and the degree to which emissions can be avoided.
One thing is clear – all advances being made mean electric vehicles will not be able to replace vehicles with combustion engines in the short term. Modern diesel and petrol engines will also remain the driving force for the automobile in the longer term – in individual mobility with passenger cars, over long distances in particular, and especially in the transportation of goods with heavy trucks. As a consequence, Daimler and Mercedes-Benz engineers have developed a broadbased approach, in which the internal combustion engine continues to play an important role that is far from being that of an obsolescent model.
The outcome is a multi-faceted driveline mix – dependent on vehicle class, usage profile and customer preference, Mercedes-Benz is bringing to bear a range of different vehicle concepts with tailor-made drive solutions. In long-distance travel, the dominant force will continue to be modern combustion engines with and without hybrid modules, complemented by fuel cell vehicles. This scenario can be boosted by plug-in hybrids and fuel cell cars for cross-country traffic. In city traffic – primarily in the increasing number of mega cities around the globe – the roads will be characterised largely by local emission-free vehicle concepts with battery and fuel cell drives.
For tomorrow and the day after – cars with electric drive
In parallel to the optimisation of vehicles with combustion engines, Daimler and Mercedes-Benz engineers are working intensively towards the company’s stated long-term goal – local emission-free driving with fuel cell and battery-powered vehicles. Mercedes-Benz and smart electric test vehicles have already proven themselves in far-reaching field trials, clocking up several million emission-free test kilometres under everyday driving conditions. The latest generation, equipped with close-to-production technology, is currently being tested within the scope of ongoing pilot projects.
The electric car – one of several options
In respect of the minimisation of CO2 emissions in road traffic, the electric car is currently being presented as the “favourite”. This has led to the impression among the general public that the age of the electric car is right around the corner. It is fair to say that, whether they run on fuel cells, battery power or range extenders, electric cars offer enormous potential when it comes to environmental friendliness.
They are, however, not yet ready for series production. Alongside insufficient production capacity for powerful and safe batteries, there is also no comprehensive infrastructure of charging facilities or of hydrogen fuel stations for fuel cell vehicles. Local emission-free, quiet and highly efficient driving is, in the first instance, most suited to major urban areas, where access restrictions and environment zones are now commonplace. A critical pre-requisite for all electric drive systems is a powerful, safe and reliable energy storage device. The performance of the overall electric system is dependent upon the battery, starting with its storage capacity. For this reason, Daimler is focusing its attention on the development of a powerful traction battery. Alongside the aforementioned characteristics, it must also have a long lifespan and a high level of crash safety and be suitable for recycling. All these prerequisites are offered by the new lithium-ion battery, which has already proven itself in hybrid applications. Its particular benefits lie in its compact dimensions combined with a considerably higher capacity compared with existing nickel metal-hydride batteries. Furthermore, thanks to the innovative cooling system and temperature management, it also possesses a high degree of reliability independent of climatic conditions and outstanding cold-start characteristics.
“We want to be the leader in green technologies, without neglecting typical Mercedes virtues like safety, comfort and refined driving pleasure. Our current models are already equipped with effective technologies for even greater efficiency, environmental compatibility and safety. In the first instance, we are achieving this with our BlueEFFICIENCY measures for vehicles with state-of-the-art combustion engines. These include downsizing, forced induction, direct injection and BLUETEC for the engines, as well as targeted optimisation measures on the vehicle in areas such as aerodynamics, lightweight design and energy management.”
In line with our continuous efforts to promote and support social and environmental initiatives towards sustainable mobility, this exhibition entitled “Road to the Future” will be held at the Concourse area of The Gardens Shopping Mall from 30 September till 4 October 2009 aimed at demonstrating the Mercedes-Benz’s competence in providing efficient mobility solutions covering current and future BlueEFFICIENCY technologies to the general public. Due to the highly complex technologies incorporated the new C 250 CDI engine, the current minimum fuel requirement is EURO 4. Therefore the C 250 CDI will not be available for sale to the public immediately.
