Prof. Dr. Thomas Weber Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG Group Research & Mercedes-Benz Cars Development 6 F o c u s the hybrid drive and, most importantly, the plug-in hybrid will play a very major part. ‹F›: At Mercedes-Benz, hybrid drives are combined with diesel as well as gasoline engines. The “Modulare Hybridbaukasten” additionally provides various electric motors, batteries and transmissions to choose from. Will every type of Mercedes have its very own “custom made” hybrid drive? ‹Dr. Weber›: When we develop our vehicles, we attach great importance to finding the ideal technical concept for every model. Our modular system was designed in such a way to ensure that we can offer an additional hybrid version for each series in the C-Class and higher – and in this respect we have reached a level of flexibility that even allows us to satisfy regional demands: By offering the E-Class as both a diesel and a gasoline hybrid version, we already have one of the most efficient models in this segment perfectly adapted to very different markets. We also intend to launch the plugin hybrid, starting with the new S-Class generation. With a fuel consumption of little more than three liters, it will set new standards in the luxury sedan segment. As for compact cars, from today’s perspective, it would be a good idea to focus mainly on totally emissionfree driving with battery or fuel-cell technology. In the A-Class, we have achieved 92 grams of CO2 per kilometer, which is already extremely low by today’s standards. From my point of view, the move toward zero emissions is obvious and logical. Prof. Dr. Thomas Weber has been a member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG since January 1, 2003. In this function, he has been responsible for Group Research & Mercedes-Benz Cars Development since May 1, 2004. Prof. Dr. Weber was born in Scharnhausen on May 26, 1954. Following technical training at the then Daimler-Benz AG, he studied mechanical engineering at the University of Stuttgart and graduated as an engineer in 1980. He was later employed as a Scientific Associate at the University of Stuttgart and the Fraunhofer Institute. He completed a doctorate in 1987 at the University of Stuttgart and joined the then Daimler-Benz AG in the same year. In 2010 he was appointed as Honorary Professor by the University of Stuttgart. combustion engines, hybrid drives and fully electric drives with battery or fuel cell. All of these drive types will be moving the cars of the future. Just how big their respective share will be naturally depends primarily upon customer acceptance and customer demand. Especially where larger vehicles are concerned, cover story
Focus 2013 1 E
To see the actual publication please follow the link above