Mercedes-Benz’s Smart city car unit is showing the next generation prototype of its Fortwo electric drive vehicle at the Detroit show.
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Production of the lithium ion battery-powered car starts at the end of the year and the automaker is eyeing the US market as trials continue here in Europe.
In 2007, Smart started a pilot project in London, England, leasing 100 of the previous generation EV to gain ‘real world’ experience and determine if the technology was viable long-term.
Smart said customer feedback had been “very encouraging” and local authorities had expempted exempting drivers from the GBP8 (about US$16) a weekday London congestion charge.
London was selected for its high populations and infrastructure density, with heavy traffic, parking shortages, plus severe noise and gaseous emissions pollution. Participation in the project was first offered to companies that operate their own vehicle fleets and those who drive in inner city areas.
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By GlobalDataParticipants lease the electric Smarts for four years or 40,000 miles and the project is running until 2012.
Last September, with the support of the German government and the state of Berlin, parent company Daimler and energy provider RWE introduced the ‘e-mobility Berlin’ project which will see RWE providing 500 electricity charging stations and Daimler 100 EVs.
The first joint tests are scheduled for this coming spring.
An ‘on-board unit’ under development will communicate with charging stations to ensure that the battery is automatically charged with low-priced electricity when the network is not used to full capacity, such as at off-peak times.
Daimler’s next electric mobility project is a cooperation with Enel, Italy’s largest energy supplier. In 2010, the ‘e-mobility Italy’ project will see around 100 Smart and M-B EVs on the streets of Rome, Milan and Pisa with Enel providing around 400 charging stations in the three cities.
Infrastructure is a particularly important issue in Italy, where the majority of vehicles are parked in city streets.
Evonik and Daimler recently established a strategic alliance to develop and make lithium-ion batteries.
Initial supplies will be for Daimler EV units but the batteries may be sold to rival automakers later.
