Daimler and Europecar announced the creation of a partnership that would allow two companies to understand customer profiles and behaviors involving the use of electric cars in cities, and how rental services can be adapted to cater to this demand.
In a test phase of the program, Daimler will supply a double-digit number of the Mercedes-Benz Vito E-CELL electric vans to Europcar for customer trials in Hamburg and Paris.
Selected Mercedes-Benz dealerships will be responsible for servicing the Vito E-CELLs in Hamburg and Paris.
The Mercedes-Benz Vito E-CELL is the world’s first electric van to roll off the assembly line in series-production operations like any other Vito. With a payload of about 900 kilograms and a fully usable cargo area, the Vito E-CELL can take on all of the usual van tasks for a vehicle of its class.
The batteries of the Vito E-CELL are located underneath the cargo bed, where they are installed in a space-saving manner. The state-of-the-art batteries are very powerful and durable lithium-ion units. They have a capacity of 36 kilowatt-hours, giving the vehicle a range of around 130 kilometers. The Vito E-CELL can therefore easily cover the 50 to 80 kilometers that a van is typically driven by a customer per day and still have a considerable range left.
The Vito E-CELL’s electric motor has an output of 60 kW and 280 Nm of torque. Because all of the torque of an electric motor is available from the very start, the Vito
E-CELL’s dynamic driving performance is comparable to the familiar high performance level of today’s diesel engines.
The top speed has been limited to 80 km/h (50 mph) due to the vehicle’s typical areas of application and to give the van as long a range as possible.
This isn’t the first cooperation between the two companies. Daimler and Europcar have been working together with the rental program car2go in Hamburg.
