Today, Daimler AG announced that the leading vehicle manufacturers in fuel cell technology – Daimler AG, Ford Motor Company, General Motors Corporation/Opel, Honda Motor Co., Ltd., Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors Corporation, the alliance Renault SA and Nissan Motor Corporation and Toyota Motor Corporation – gave a joint statement to the development and market introduction of electric vehicles with fuel cells with a Letter of Understanding (LoU). These companies have built up remarkable know-how in fuel cell technology and thus, the signing marks a major step towards the serial production of such locally emission-free vehicles.

The signing automobile manufacturers strongly anticipate that from 2015 onwards a quite significant number of electric vehicles with fuel cell could be commercialised. This number is aimed at a few hundred thousand units over life cycle on a worldwide basis. As every vehicle manufacturer will implement its own specific production and commercial strategies as well as timelines, commercialisation of electric vehicles with fuel cells may occur earlier than in the above-mentioned expected year. Read the rest of this entry »

Mercedes-Benz is launching its first series-produced fuel cell car on the road: the new B‑Class F-CELL. The environmentally friendly electric car has better a performance similar to than a 2,0-litre petrol car and is fully suited for everyday driving. The zero-emission drive system consumes the equivalent of 3.3 litres of diesel per 100 kilometres in the NEDC (New European Driving Cicle). Production of the B‑Class F-CELL will commence in late 2009 with a small lot. The first of around 200 vehicles will be delivered to customers in Europe and the USA at the beginning of next year. Read the rest of this entry »