Mercedes Intensifies Electric Attack, Adds Mild Hybrid Systems To All Cars

German Luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz is intensifying its switch towards electrifying its range of cars as it aims to combat increasingly stifling emission norms.

To achieve this Mercedes are fitting 48V electric motors directly to the crankshafts, which will act as a both an alternator and as a starter motor for the engine.

The first car to receive this will be the brand new facelifted Mercedes S-Class which will launch in 2017. Also new on the S-Class facelift is the new straight-six engine codenamed M256.

The new 3-litre six-cylinder engine features turbocharging and will be augmented by the new mild hybrid system which Mercedes claim will add up to 19hp to the new car total power output.

In addition to this, Mercedes claim that the motor will be able to harvest up to 20hp through regenerative braking and will be able to increase the mileage of the cars by 10-15 percent.

However, the electric motor by itself cannot be used to drive the car on its own as there is no way of disconnecting the motor from the engine. Another reason is the relatively small capacity of the motor at just 0.9kWh.

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