Mercedes invests in electric supercar

Luxury Automotive

Daimler AG, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, has acquired an equity stake of nearly 10 percent of San Francisco-based electric supercar maker Tesla Motors Inc.

Daimler AG, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, has acquired an equity stake of nearly 10 percent of San Francisco-based electric supercar maker Tesla Motors Inc.

The two companies have already been working closely to integrate Tesla’s lithium-ion battery packs and charging electronics into the first 1,000 units of Daimler’s electric smart car. In order to benefit from each other’s know-how, the investment enables the partners to collaborate even more closely on the development of battery systems, electric drive systems and in individual vehicle projects.

This is a significant milestone in the electrification of the car. Tesla was headed to be a success in its own right due to the styling and supercar performance from an electric vehicle (0-100km/h in less than 4 seconds) but this endorsement will hopefully accelerate both the competition to produce electric vehicles and a massive investment in engineering to ensure reliability and real-world battery life.

In another part of the Daimler group, 100 smart electric cars have already been undergoing large-scale trials in London since 2007. These electric vehicles are being tested in day-to-day assignments by fleet operators and private customers. Production starts in France later this year of up to 1,000 units of the second-generation smart fortwo with electric drive. Mercedes-Benz is also starting small-series production of the B-Class with a fuel cell drive system and will introduce its first battery-powered car in 2010.

The Tesla Roadster