Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive is out of juice
Mercedes will instead focus its efforts on its new generation of electric vehicles.
With a whole bunch of EVs on the way, it's time for Mercedes-Benz to bid farewell to the single EV it currently sells in North America.
Production of the Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive will be phased out in the third quarter of 2017, Automotive News reports, citing confirmation from a Mercedes-Benz spokesman. Instead of keeping with the B-Class hatchback, Mercedes will focus on its upcoming EQ lineup of electric vehicles.
Mercedes-Benz sold 46 electric B-Class hatchbacks in the US in June 2017.
Mercedes-Benz will continue to produce gas and diesel versions of its compact hatchback, but those aren't offered in the US, so the car is all but dead stateside. Not that it ever truly lived here -- since it went on sale in 2013, Mercedes-Benz sold just 3,651 examples of the B-Class Electric Drive. Although, to be fair, its initial rollout was only in a few states, and Mercedes never kept ample stock in the US.
The B-Class Electric Drive started at $39,900. Its 177-horsepower, 251-pound-foot electric motor sent the car to 60 mph in 7.9 seconds. Its range was a just-OK 87 miles, which wasn't bad for 2013, but it pales in comparison to current EV ranges, especially now that the Chevrolet Bolt EV and Tesla Model 3 are out there.
The next Mercedes-Benz EV you see in the US will probably come from its new EQ sub-brand, which will focus on battery-electric vehicles. The first debut from EQ was the Generation EQ crossover concept from the 2016 Paris Motor Show. It features a theoretical range of 310 miles, achieving 60 mph in less than five seconds thanks to an electric motor at each axle.
Mercedes-Benz hopes to bring 10 electric models to market by 2025, and it hopes EVs will comprise between 15 to 20 percent of its sales at that same time.
