Daimler is adding to its green profile with a new initiative to bring Smart cars to the streets of Berlin, write Derek Scally
JUST WHO killed the electric car is a matter of heated dispute and motoring urban legend. But Germany's Daimler is confident that, in future, its name will forever be mentioned in the same breath as the electrical car's renaissance.
A year after shaking off the dead weight of its SUV-heavy subsidiary Chrysler, Daimler has announced an ambitious plan to put 100 Smart cars - with lithium-ion batteries - on the streets of Berlin.
The test cars will be allocated based on user applications for a pilot period before the vehicle goes into serial production from 2012 at the latest.
German utility giant RWE has agreed to set up and operate hundreds of charging points around the capital for drivers.
Presenting the plan, chief executive Dieter Zetsche said he hopes will put his company - and Germany - at the forefront of "green mobility".
"Our joint initiative is a good example of what can be achieved when policy makers, energy suppliers and the automotive industry all work together toward the same goal," he said.
The presence of Chancellor Angela Merkel at the launch of what she called a "groundbreaking project" is an indication of just how serious the government is about what they are calling "E-mobility Berlin".
Daimler began a similar pilot project earlier this year in London where a fleet of electric Smart cars will be followed, from 2010, with a fleet of Mercedes A- or B-Class electric models. The company is confident that its technology is road-ready, and that its partnership with RWE will overcome one of the greatest barriers to widespread electric car introduction until now: the lack of places to charge them.
RWE say it is preparing to install the 500 charging points wherever the cars' drivers need them: at home, work and in public areas.
To make that work, the two companies are collaborating on technology to allow customers to recharge and register their purchase for later payment at home. It mirrors a similar collaboration between Toyota and energy company EDF in France.
Despite the inroads of the Toyota Prius and other hybrids into the traditional market, 100 per cent of electric cars still have inherent design weaknesses.
Critics suggest that it will take six hours for a full battery charge and point out that the cars cannot make long road trips because of the need to recharge. "Five hundred charging points isn't that many for 100 cars," remarked Dr Merkel at the launch.
Nevertheless, with government backing, the Daimler project is the first stage in a German national plan for the development of electric vehicles to be unveiled in Berlin in November. Even with the limitations, Dr Merkel said she was confident that electrical cars "will prevail sooner than people think". And, after letting the Japanese steal a march, Germany's Daimler is confident it can make up lost ground.
With plug-in Smart cars and Mercedes nosing their way onto the market, Daimler hopes it can dominate the age of the electric car just as it did after founder Gottlieb Daimler pioneered the internal combustion engine in 1885.