Increased electrification of the car is inevitable, but it will be two or three decades before we start to see the demise of the internal combustion engine, said the man responsible for research at Daimler and the development of Mercedes-Benz cars.
Large cars will become plug-in hybrids – and Mercedes had a 69g/km, 94mpg version of the new S-Class on display at Frankfurt to illustrate the point – while medium-sized cars will be full hybrids or dual-fuel powered by petrol and natural gas, said Thomas Weber. Only small city runabouts will be pure electric.
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“Electriciation will take place but not without a combustion engine for 20 or 30 years,” he said. “What will go down is [sales of] the pure combustion engine, though it as an open question as to how fast this will happen.
“We definitely have enough oil and it will remain relatively cheap. The only thing which can change the game is discussions about climate change – storms and so on,” he added.
Long term, Weber is pinning his faith on the hydrogen fuel cell as the answer to long range, clean mobility. Mercedes had planned to introduce a fuel cell version of the B-Class next year, but has since postponed it following the signing of a collaboration deal on fuel cell research with Ford and Nissan.
“Our decision was based on the infrastructure situation. We have shifted it a few years to 2016 or 2017,” said Weber. “Technology wise, we are nearly ready but where are the fuel stations?
“This gives us time to develop a common drivetrain which makes a lot of sense because the volumes will be higher and the costs lower and push on the infrastructure situation.
“Toyota will step in and now Volkswagen has said it is no longer against the fuel cell. In the long run it is the best solution because range is no longer a topic.”
