Report

Mercedes puts electric van program into 'hibernation'

Mercedes-Benz had said its all-electric Vito E-Cell cargo van had sufficient juice to keep the model as a viable transportation option, but the same apparently can't be said for Germans' appetite for the vehicle.

The Daimler division is putting future sales of the E-Cell on hold because of lack of demand, Car and Driver says, citing an interview with Mercedes-Benz van division chief Volker Mornhinweg. Just "a few hundred" E-Cell vehicles have been sold, causing the German automaker to put the model into "hibernation mode."

The Vito E-Cell has a single-charge range of about 81 miles and a top speed of 50 miles per hour as well as 80 horsepower out of its front-wheel drive set-up. In the spring of 2011, Mercedes-Benz and Paris-based rental company Europcar reached an agreement to have a few dozen E-Cells rented out on a trial basis in both Hamburg, Germany, and Paris, France.

Mercedes-Benz Information

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