Yet another premiere is being celebrated by the Mercedes-Benz Vito E-CELL. Hitting the streets outside of Germany is the first van with an electromotive drive system to be produced by a car manufacturer ex factory. As of today the first five vehicles are out and about on Spanish streets. The vehicles were handed over to the customer during a special ceremony at the Mercedes-Benz production location for the
Vito E-CELL in Vitoria. In the presence of Basque Prime Minister López, the Head of Production for Mercedes-Benz Vans, Dr Heinrich Weiss and Jose Luis Lopez-Schummer Trevino, President of Mercedes-Benz Spain, presented the five Mercedes-Benz Vito E-CELL vehicles to Augustine Markaide, President of the supermarket chain Eroski. “The Vito E-CELL, which is now fully integrated in our series production, represents a completely new phenomenon. As far as process management is concerned, all the hurdles were overcome in record time!”, commented Dr Heinrich Weiss as the official hand-over of the keys took place.
Emission-free vans are becoming increasingly widespread in everyday road traffic
Having been put to use so successfully in the conurbations of Berlin and Stuttgart, the Vito E-CELL is now set to prove its suitability for everyday applications in Spain. Thanks to the Vito E-CELL, electromotively driven – and thus locally zero-emission, not to mention virtually silent – vans are now a reality in the Basque Country’s streetscape. So the Basque Country is not just the production location for these electromotive vehicles – it is also their area of operation. Further customers in major European cities will be taking delivery of their Vito E-CELL vehicles over the coming months.
Vito E-CELL: full-function van for everyday operations
The Vito E-CELL is not an experimental vehicle – it is a full-function van for day-to-day applications. It is the first van of its kind to roll off the series-production line, just like any other Vito. In close consultation with its customers, Mercedes-Benz has implemented the prerequisites for an electromotively driven van: with a payload of around 900 kilograms plus a load compartment with no restrictions on use whatsoever the Vito E-CELL assumes all the usual transportation duties of any vehicle in its class.
Up-to-the-minute powertrain engineering, powerful lithium-ion batteries
The Vito E-CELL’s batteries are stored in a space-saving manner beneath the load-compartment floor. They are state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries which are particularly powerful and have a high current capacity. They have an overall capacity of 36 kWh, sufficient for a range of some 130 kilometres. This means that the Vito E-CELL meets the average customer requirements for vans – around 50 to 80 kilometres per day – and still has a generous reserve.
The Vito E-CELL’s electric motor has an output of 60 kW and a torque of 280 Nm. As the full torque is available right from the start in the case of electric motors, the Vito E-CELL boasts a dynamic performance at the same high level as the latest diesel engines. Taking into consideration the Vito E-CELL’s usual area of operation and to facilitate the highest battery range possible, the van’s top speed is limited to 80 km/h.
Following on from the small series of 100 Mercedes-Benz Vito E-CELL vehicles which are now out and about in Berlin und Stuttgart, this ceremonial hand-over officially marks the start of the next series – encompassing over 2000 units.
