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BERLIN – Daimler director Ola Kallenius has defended plug-in hybrid cars against critics who say vehicles’ environmental friendliness is overrated.
Environmental activist groups claim that plug-in hybrids, which combine an electric transmission and a combustion engine, operate primarily in a non-electric mode, which sometimes makes their CO2 emissions higher than combustion-engine cars because of their weight. more importantly forces them to consume more fuel.
In an interview with Automotive News Europe, Kallenius said that the long electric range of the latest generation of plug-in hybrid vehicles means that they will be driven in electric mode with zero emissions more often.
“As for plug-in hybrids, we are now in the third generation of these cars, but a lot of the talk about them is still based on the data from the first generation where the batteries were smaller and the range. was shorter. ” he said.
He said that as customers are offered a longer lineup, they will be using plug-in hybrids much more in mind as expected.
“Many customers can come and go to work all week in full electric mode,” said Kallenius.
For example, the latest Mercedes C-Class plug-in hybrid can travel 100 km (62 miles) on electricity alone – twice as much as its predecessor, in part thanks to a more powerful battery.
Kallenius said customers who use the “Mercedes me” app can choose to share their fuel consumption data to see where they rank based on their actual driving.
To make eco-driving more attractive, the company launched an app and designed game graphics in the instrument cluster to encourage customers to drive in an energy efficient manner.
“In addition to technologically mastering this challenge, we are also looking to change the driving behavior of people by encouraging them and working with them on this journey,” he said.
Read the full interview with Daimler CEO Ola Kallenius here.
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