Fuel Celled Cars To See Rapid Price Declines By 2015

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Achieving a $50,000 price point for a fuel-celled sedan by 2015 is going to be difficult but doable. This was the statement given to Automotive News by Daimler’s e-drive and future mobility chief Herbert Kohler. With Toyota declaring its intention to launch a fuel-celled vehicle at such a price point in four years, Mercedes, a strong proponent of fuel-celled vehicles has no choice but to match this declaration. Kohler admits that ” By 2015, we think a fuel cell car will not cost more than a four-cylinder diesel hybrid that meets the Euro 6 emissions standard. By 2013-2014, we want to bring a four-digit-number of fuel cell vehicles to market”.

Mercedes-Benz is also contemplating the development of fuel cell
versions of the A-, C- and E-Class lines in the next five years. Costs
would rapidly decline if Mercedes can incorporate its fuel cell
technology into several models and hit mass production levels.

Kohler added that fuel celled vehicles can be expected to be cheaper
than battery-powered cars of the same size in the next five years. He
also said that the second-generation fuel cell cars would use less
expensive hardware when they are introduced in 2013. The Mercedes-Benz
B-Class F-Cell is currently available for lease to selected customers in
the U.S. for $849 a month.