The W169 A-class launched in 2004 probably would be a lot more valuable today as a design for current small cars due to its unique sandwich floor that allowed an elevated driving position and ingenious availability of space inside the vehicle and also mostly would allow the easy fitment of a BEV battery and motor powertrain without any sacrifice in passenger or boot space.
Its been 10 years already since Mercedes launched the A-class E-cell and it was quite unique at the time for BEV powered small cars. Although it was only available on lease and not for purchase.
More than ten years ago, after the B-Class F-CELL, Mercedes-Benz also presented the A-Class with E-CELL electric drive. The five-seater vehicle was based on the then current A-Class and offered a range of 200 km (according to NEDC). The model was powered by a 70 kW electric motor with 290 Nm torque.
A-Class E-CELL: only 500 copies in customer hands
From autumn 2010 only 500 copies of the A-Class E-CELL went into customer hands, but were only rented or leased to several customers in Europe. However, the model was not sold.
The five-seater vehicle offered the same variability in the interior and trunk as the model with a combustion engine (435 to 1,370 liters) and 350 kilograms of payload (including driver and luggage) and was perfectly suitable for everyday use.
The electric motor of the A-Class E-CELL was a permanently excited synchronous machine with a peak output of 70 kW (95 PS) and a continuous output of 50 kW (68 PS). The electric car accelerated from zero to 60 km / h in 5.5 seconds - to 100 km / h in 14 seconds. Even then, the top speed was electronically limited to 150 km / h. Two high-performance lithium-ion batteries with high-voltage technology were used to store electricity. The energy content of the two lithium-ion batteries was a total of 36 kWh. With fully charged batteries, the A-Class E-CELL has a range of more than 200 kilometers (NEDC value).
With the A-Class E-CELL, shortly before the generation change of the A-Class, the sandwich design was used for the first time to position the drive batteries, which were then taken over by smart and originally from Tesla. With the conventional drives, the expensive double floor construction of the series was practically useless.
Thermal management for the battery
A special thermal management system ensured that the high-voltage batteries were cooled within their optimal temperature window. The batteries were cooled using a low-temperature cooling circuit. The liquid cooling by a water / glycol mixture ensured a stable operating temperature, which promoted the high efficiency and the longevity of the energy storage. At very high outside temperatures, the battery cooling was also supported by the refrigerant circuit of the air conditioning system. The electric drive and the two onboard chargers were cooled using a high-temperature cooling circuit.
Loading times from back then - too slow for today
In the case of the A-Class E-CELL, the battery itself could not only be charged at public charging stations, but also at a standard household socket. However, the charging time on a single-phase 230 volt network was an impressive 8 hours to achieve a range of 100 km. This distance was available after 3 hours at the wallbox or charging station (400 V). With this technical data it would be impossible to sell an electric vehicle nowadays, but it was a good value in 2010. After all, air conditioning while charging was already possible back then.
Of the 500 units produced at the time, there are no longer any vehicles in the customer's hands due to the expired leasing contracts. According to our information, no vehicle from that time should still be on the public roads, but has already been recycled. In spite of this, at least one vehicle should have come into the company's own collection.
Its been 10 years already since Mercedes launched the A-class E-cell and it was quite unique at the time for BEV powered small cars. Although it was only available on lease and not for purchase.
A-Class E-CELL: only 500 copies in customer hands
From autumn 2010 only 500 copies of the A-Class E-CELL went into customer hands, but were only rented or leased to several customers in Europe. However, the model was not sold.
The five-seater vehicle offered the same variability in the interior and trunk as the model with a combustion engine (435 to 1,370 liters) and 350 kilograms of payload (including driver and luggage) and was perfectly suitable for everyday use.
The electric motor of the A-Class E-CELL was a permanently excited synchronous machine with a peak output of 70 kW (95 PS) and a continuous output of 50 kW (68 PS). The electric car accelerated from zero to 60 km / h in 5.5 seconds - to 100 km / h in 14 seconds. Even then, the top speed was electronically limited to 150 km / h. Two high-performance lithium-ion batteries with high-voltage technology were used to store electricity. The energy content of the two lithium-ion batteries was a total of 36 kWh. With fully charged batteries, the A-Class E-CELL has a range of more than 200 kilometers (NEDC value).
With the A-Class E-CELL, shortly before the generation change of the A-Class, the sandwich design was used for the first time to position the drive batteries, which were then taken over by smart and originally from Tesla. With the conventional drives, the expensive double floor construction of the series was practically useless.
Thermal management for the battery
A special thermal management system ensured that the high-voltage batteries were cooled within their optimal temperature window. The batteries were cooled using a low-temperature cooling circuit. The liquid cooling by a water / glycol mixture ensured a stable operating temperature, which promoted the high efficiency and the longevity of the energy storage. At very high outside temperatures, the battery cooling was also supported by the refrigerant circuit of the air conditioning system. The electric drive and the two onboard chargers were cooled using a high-temperature cooling circuit.
Loading times from back then - too slow for today
In the case of the A-Class E-CELL, the battery itself could not only be charged at public charging stations, but also at a standard household socket. However, the charging time on a single-phase 230 volt network was an impressive 8 hours to achieve a range of 100 km. This distance was available after 3 hours at the wallbox or charging station (400 V). With this technical data it would be impossible to sell an electric vehicle nowadays, but it was a good value in 2010. After all, air conditioning while charging was already possible back then.
Of the 500 units produced at the time, there are no longer any vehicles in the customer's hands due to the expired leasing contracts. According to our information, no vehicle from that time should still be on the public roads, but has already been recycled. In spite of this, at least one vehicle should have come into the company's own collection.
