“Tremendous Hybrids” Like The Mercedes GLC 350e Are Coming

By Imran Last updated Jan 4, 2025

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Bloomberg is out with a report this week that extols the virtues of what it calls “tremendous hybrids” — vehicles with sufficient battery-only vary to deal with most individuals’s every day driving wants with out help from the onboard gasoline engine. In actual fact, it will get downright giddy when speaking concerning the Mercedes GLC 350e, a plug-in hybrid that may journey as much as 50 miles on electrons alone, no molecules wanted.

The Mercedes GLC 350e affords 4 zones of local weather management and its headlights undertaking icons such because the picture of a pedestrian or a bicyclist on to the roadway to warn drivers of hazards forward. However the SUV’s most spectacular trick, Bloomberg says, is that it may possibly journey from Ossining, New York, to Midtown Manhattan and again once more on battery energy alone with out ever as soon as calling on its turbocharged, four-cylinder gasoline engine for additional energy.

“You begin masking a buyer’s every day driving solely while you get into expertise like this, which adjustments the sport,” stated Bart Herring, vp of gross sales and product at Mercedes-Benz USA. The GLC 350e gives 50 miles of electrical vary, which Herring calls the “magic quantity,” as a result of nearly all of US drivers don’t drive greater than 50 miles a day. Bloomberg enthuses that auto executives have created a “killer app” for the big variety of American drivers between EV-curious and EV-skeptical. It calls the automotive a “tremendous hybrid,” and suggests it and plug-in hybrids from different producers often is the key to unlocking the door to the EV revolution in America.

CleanTechnica readers could also be stunned by this information. A decade in the past, Basic Motors had exactly this type of automotive, one that might journey as much as 60 miles on its battery alone however with a gasoline engine beneath the hood that solely acquired known as upon as soon as the cost within the battery was depleted. It was known as the Chevy Volt and it was a fairly candy experience. Naturally, GM did what GM does finest. It invested a ton of cash to get the Volt into manufacturing, did not market it in any significant approach, then shut it down as a result of gross sales had been under expectations (duh!) and put the expertise on the shelf, by no means to be seen once more besides on some fashions bought in China.

Herring stated to count on long-range hybrid expertise to turn out to be out there on extra fashions from Mercedes, partially as a result of they’re promoting so properly. Within the third quarter of 2024, US shoppers purchased 3 times as many Mercedes plug-ins as they did in the identical interval the earlier yr. Roughly half of these consumers had by no means owned a Mercedes earlier than. “You discover clients who nonetheless aren’t certain about electrical and this speaks to them. I’ve to say, I didn’t fairly get it till I drove one for 9 months. I barely ever touched fuel.”

Hybrids & Tremendous Hybrids

Hybrids just like the Toyota Prius sometimes have tiny batteries of lower than 2 kWh. The Mercedes GLC 350e has an actual battery — 24 kWh. That is the place readers might start to query the wonderfulness of the Mercedes. The unique Nissan LEAF additionally had a 24 kWh battery and will journey as much as 80 miles. Right here we’re 13 years later and the perfect that each one the engineering expertise at Mercedes can muster is 50 miles? The 2015 Volt had an 18.4 kWh battery and managed 53 miles. One of many elements that makes it onerous for battery electrical vehicles to be aggressive is how massive and heavy vehicles normally have turn out to be over the previous 20 years.

Boston Consulting Group surveys present {that a} long-range hybrid appeals to a few third of US automotive consumers, and it expects a parade of latest hybrid fashions that journey far longer on battery energy than most do now. When US EV gross sales dipped briefly in 2024, plug-in hybrids maintained their momentum. “It’s more and more evident each automaker has to have hybrids of their portfolio and should have them for longer,” defined Nathan Niese, world lead for EVs and Power Storage at Boston Consulting Group.

Longer vary plug-in hybrid fashions are making positive factors all over the world. In China, it’s frequent for plug-in hybrids to journey 60 miles on a cost, Bloomberg says. In actual fact, curiosity in so known as prolonged vary EVs, which may journey 100 miles or extra on battery energy alone, is surging in China. BYD even has fashions on the market that may journey greater than 1300 miles on a mixture of battery and engine energy. That ought to calm anybody’s fears about vary nervousness!

Bloomberg describes “tremendous hybrids” as autos that promise an almost-emission-free driving expertise with a gasoline-powered security web. However how a lot does that have value? The Mercedes GLC 350e prices about $10,000 greater than the non-hybrid model of the identical automotive. Toyota has two plug-in hybrid fashions on the market within the US — the Prius Prime and the RAV4 Prime. The Prius Prime has a 13.6 kWh battery and a most vary of 44 miles. It’s priced at $32,975. The RAV4 Prime has an 18.1 kWh battery and vary of 42 miles. It lists for $43,865.

BloombergNEF expects plug-in gross sales to peak at 9.2 million in 2030, with almost 4 battery electrical autos bought for each one hybrid. But survey after survey exhibits many drivers — significantly within the US — are nonetheless involved about electrical vary, charger availability, and charging pace. So-called delicate hybrids, which don’t must be plugged in, have been well-liked for years within the US. With their tiny batteries, they usually don’t value far more than gasoline-only fashions. Nevertheless, they seldom can drive completely on electrons and have solely small effectivity positive factors, primarily by means of regenerative braking. A regular Toyota RAV4 can drive 41 miles on a gallon of gasoline. The RAV4 Prime can drive the identical distance on battery energy alone. Which is healthier? As they outdated expression goes, “You pays your cash and also you takes your selection.”

A Gateway To Zero-Emissions Driving

Expertise needs to be skilled, it may possibly’t be described in phrases. You don’t promote new vehicles by speaking about them; you promote new vehicles by getting folks behind the wheel and letting them drive them. Our readers know the oil corporations have paid for billions of {dollars} price of unfavorable publicity about electrical autos, all of it designed to make folks afraid of making an attempt them. To be correct, legacy automakers have achieved a poor job of countering that unfavorable info as a result of they’re a part of the good fossil gasoline economic system as properly. Promoting gasoline-powered vehicles is how they make their residing.

Throughout the Obama years, they embraced EVs slightly. Throughout Trump 1.0, they went the opposite approach. Beneath Biden, they fell in love with EVs once more. Now, with Trump 2.0 simply across the nook, they’re cool to EVs once more. Plug-in hybrids are a half measure within the marketing campaign to decrease emissions from the transportation sector, however a half a loaf could also be higher than none.

The vehicles Bloomberg calls “tremendous hybrids” are actually the least drivers ought to count on. However they will function a bridge to totally electrical driving by introducing folks to the moment torque of an electrical motor and the wonders of regenerative braking. In addition they train folks concerning the comfort of charging at house — 10 seconds to plug in at night time and 10 seconds to unplug within the morning. As soon as this stuff are skilled and turn out to be a part of the every day routine, the worry subsides. Possibly that’s adequate motive to welcome these so-called “tremendous hybrids” to the EV neighborhood.