A-Class with fuel-cell drive system undergoes practical testing

Zero-emission fuel-cell drive system

Pioneering drive-system technology on course for market launch

65 kW electric motor and 140 km/h top speed

Tokyo, Oct 22, 2003
The vision of Mercedes engineers for the vehicle drive system of the future is centred around fuel cells, and they have been working closely with their colleagues at DaimlerChrysler Research since the early 1990s to make this vision a reality. Their work has already yielded some notable advances. DaimlerChrysler is a pioneer in the development of fuel cell technology and has demonstrated the feasibility of this ground-breaking drive principle in a total of some 20 prototypes. Since the early days, both the size and weight of the drive unit has been dramatically reduced and the performance of the vehicles consistently improved.
The fuel-cell drive system graduated from its apprenticeship as a pure research project in early 2003 and vehicles with the new technology are already being built in close-to-series production. Based on the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, the innovative new variant bears the extra designation “Fuel Cell”. A total of 60 A-Class Fuel Cell vehicles will take part in a practical testing programme from the end of 2003 with Mercedes customers in the USA, Europe, Japan and Singapore. With this move, Mercedes-Benz has given the green light for the development of this pioneering new drive-system technology for market launch. The A-Class Fuel Cell runs on pure hydrogen, which the fuel cell then uses to create electrical energy through a chemical reaction with oxygen. This energy, in turn, drives an electric motor, making the A-Class Fuel Cell a zero-emission vehicle.