Charging up an electric car looks set to get a whole lot easier, with a new Plug&Charge system promising to do away with membership cards, apps, or swiping a credit card. The system turns the electric charging socket on the EV itself into an authentication system, enabling it to communicate with the charger it's plugged into.
We've seen our fair share of concept cars though almost all of them have future consumers in mind. There are, however, some concepts that have a different market audience in mind, a market that craves for the very best that money can buy and have the money to buy it too. The latest show car to come from Mercedes-Maybach is one of those. Dubbed the Vision Mercedes-Maybach Ultimate Luxury, the ultra luxurious show car doesn't skimp on design and materials to deliver a fusion of sedan and SUV, East and West, utility and, of course, luxury.
During the first half of this year, some Mercedes-Maybach customers will receive the first batch of Mercedes-Maybach S-Class vehicles featuring Digital Light, the automaker's futuristic headlights. Daimler announced the plans today, saying the technology is set to enter small series production with the aforementioned S-Class model. The technology will be showcased at the Geneva Motor Show.
VW has yet to claw its way out from under the mess surrounding its cheating diesel cars and may not for a long time to come. Reports are now indicating that Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler might have used software to help it pass US emission tests. The first word of the scandal surfaced from a German newspaper citing confidential documents over the weekend.
Cars are making the jump, some more of a slow hop, to technologies like connectivity, artificial intelligence and the like. These days, car makers talk as much about machine learning and neural networks as they do horsepower and torque. But while they are undoubtedly interesting from a technological perspective, in the grand scheme of things they should take a backseat to the most important element of all: the human element. At CES 2018, I got a chance to sit down with Dr. Annette Winkler, CEO of Smart Automobile, who describes what smart cars ultimately mean.
Thomas Built Buses, a North American Daimler subsidiary, has taken the wraps off its new Jouley electric school bus, the first of its kind for the company. The bus, which has the official moniker "Saf-T-Liner C2 Electric Bus," is scheduled to hits public roads in the United States in 2019, providing emissions-free transportation for students from home to school and back again.
Put in hydrogen; get out nothing but electricity and water. There's a reason hydrogen fuel cells have become increasingly popular among automakers, but Daimler's latest ambition for the technology isn't actually designed to move at all. Instead, it's all about weening power-hogs off the grid.
When it comes to the future of the electric car market and its growth, one of the biggest difficulties is the need for a wide range of charging stations that will support vehicles from different manufacturers. Well, four of the biggest automakers are now working together to form a solution — for Europe, at least. BMW, Daimler, Ford, and the Volkswagen Group have announced a joint partnership in Ionity, a venture that aims to build a huge network of fast chargers across Europe.
Daimler just unveiled the E-FUSO Vision One, a heavy-duty all-electric truck with a range of 350 kilometers and a futuristic design that won't be confused with gasoline trucks on the road. The E-FUSO Vision One has made its public debut before Tesla's own all-electric heavy duty truck, giving Daimler the upper hand at the moment.
Bosch and Daimler have announced they will work together to create 'fully automated, driverless vehicles' designed specifically for use on city roads. The alliance aims to get such vehicles on public streets at the beginning of the next decade -- that is, in the next handful of years. Among other things, these vehicles are designed to make the roads safer while decreasing congestion.