Mercedes plans to be the first car company to break into the luxury hybrid car market, releasing news about their plans to roll out an S-class hybrid sedan.
According to Business Week, the automaker will launch its hybrid luxury offering in June 2009.
The 30 mpg hybrid luxury car is still not as efficient as the more compact Honda and Toyota models, but at least they are trying!
And it might not be much, but at 30 mpg Mercedes actually doubled the efficiency of this car.
Business Week asks a good question in the article, wondering why it took so long for Mercedes to enter the hybrid car market (the first Toyota and Honda hybrids rolled out almost 20 years ago),
Which brings up a good point: if diesel engines are indeed more efficient than gasoline ones, will we be seeing diesel-electric hybrids soon?
The Mercedes S-class luxury hybrid sedan
According to Business Week, the automaker will launch its hybrid luxury offering in June 2009.
The 30 mpg hybrid luxury car is still not as efficient as the more compact Honda and Toyota models, but at least they are trying!
And it might not be much, but at 30 mpg Mercedes actually doubled the efficiency of this car.
Business Week asks a good question in the article, wondering why it took so long for Mercedes to enter the hybrid car market (the first Toyota and Honda hybrids rolled out almost 20 years ago),
Why did it take so long for Mercedes to get into the hybrid market? One reason is that Mercedes, as well as BMW (BMWG.DE) and Volkswagen (VOWG.DE), have concentrated on optimizing diesel engines. BMW's diesel Mini and 1 Series rival the Prius for gas mileage and carbon dioxide emissions. Daimler says its BlueTec line of diesel SUVs, launched in the U.S. over the summer, account for 20% of Mercedes SUV sales in the country, a substantial percentage considering that diesel passenger cars make up only 4% of the total market.
Which brings up a good point: if diesel engines are indeed more efficient than gasoline ones, will we be seeing diesel-electric hybrids soon?
The Mercedes S-class luxury hybrid sedan
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