While Mercedes-Benz is set to bring 48-volt mild hybrid technology to its new straight-six engine, it will continue producing meatier plug-in hybrids with higher voltages. Next year?s facelift of the Mercedes S-class will include a revised plug-in hybrid. (The current S550e is shown in this photo.) Likely to arrive in the U.S. as a 2018 model, it will carry a substantial battery upgrade that the company claims will increase its electric-only range to around 30 miles.
The current S550e has an 8.7-kWh battery pack, but the face-lifted car will have a 13.5-kWh unit that will fit in the same space and?at around 260 pounds?weigh almost exactly the same. ?It?s a good indication of the speed [at which] battery technology is developing,? Jochen Strenkert, Mercedes? head of plug-in hybrid powertrains told us at the company?s Future Technology day in Stuttgart. The company is already planning for yet another battery-performance boost as it moves beyond the limits of lithium-ion battery technology; we?re told that by 2025, the S-Class plug-in should have twice the charge capacity and range as the current car. Despite the arrival of Mercedes? new inline six-cylinder engine we?re told that the 550e will continue to use a development of the current car?s 329-hp turbocharged V-6, although it is likely to get a brawnier electric motor. The mid-cycle freshening of the S-Class will also introduce a more-advanced version of M-B’s Piloted Driving system. Given how far toward autonomous d...