Just ahead of the Paris Auto Show, Daimler officially presented its pure electric Smart ED models. All three variants will feature a 60 kW motor and 17.6 kWh battery pack now allowing for 160 km of range. An on-board fast-charger with double the charging capacity as the previous version will also come standard, while a 22 kW on-board charger option will be added from 2017. The small EVs will hit European roads early next year but IDTechEx doubts whether this specification reminiscent of 2015 vehicles will excite. The race is on for low cost or long range versions prior to the Chinese offering both. There will be Energy Independent ones like the IFEVS Polymodel microcar in Italy with an urban range of about 40km in Italy on sunshine alone. Hanergy in China even promises energy independent family cars, sports car and SUV in production with much longer range thanks to expanding GaAs solar panels. We doubt if they will make the price competitive by then but they will one day. Daimler needs to catch up, diverting fuel cell money to these more promising options. According to German Auto Bild, Mercedes will unveil the EQC in Paris. This is more modern. The five- and seven-seater electric crossover is said to become available in 2019 and be fitted with two electric motors. The 70 kWh battery pack will allow for 500 km on one charge.
See the IDTechEx reports Future Powertrains 2016-2026, Energy Independent Electric Vehicle Technology Roadmap 2016-2031, and Electric Vehicles Will Change the World 2017-2037.
Top image source: Daimler
