Mercedes-Benz will start selling a fuel-cell electric version of its GLC sport utility vehicle next year, an effort to broaden the appeal of the technology with the first publicly available battery that can be charged both with hydrogen and at a wall socket.
Able to drive about 500 km before recharging, the car is part of Daimler AG's 7 billion euro ($7.9 billion) spending effort on green technology through next year. The GLC F-Cell's plug-in option gives the car enough charge to drive 50 km, potentially making it more attractive to buyers despite the existence of just 26 public hydrogen refuelling stations in the US.
"Daimler sees several different drive technologies coexisting in the future," Thomas Weber, the carmaker's head of development, said in a statement. "We have a broad portfolio of vehicles from compact cars to heavy trucks that require us to think holistically."
Carmakers are pouring money into electric vehicles as emissions regulations tighten around the world and cities increasingly restrict access for high-polluting cars. The Volkswagen AG diesel-emissions cheating scandal and early success of Tesla Motor Corp's electric Model 3 have also shaken the industry's confidence in traditional combustion engines.
Daimler first offered a fuel-cell vehicle in 2010, when it started selling a small number of B-Class F-Cell compact cars. The technology is attractive because of fast refuelling times similar to gasoline or diesel engines and driving ranges of several hundred kilometres. Still, carmakers have struggled to establish the technology in the mass market because handling hydrogen is challenging and building the charging infrastructure is costly.
Daimler said it will keep introducing plug-in hybrid versions across its model range and will unveil a concept version of a battery-electric car at this year's Paris motor show. The vehicle will enter production this decade with a 500-mk driving range, Daimler said, more than twice that of the existing electric version of the Mercedes B-Class.
