The German automaker has confirmed that it will be pushing ahead with the development of its PHEVs under its EQ Power label for its A 250 e, A 250 e Saloon and B 250 e.
The aim of Mercedes-Benz is that it wants to provide more than 20 model variants by 2020.
At current, the order books have opened for the A 250 e and A 250 e Saloon with prices starting from €36,943.55 (RM171,200) and €37,300.55 (RM172,900) respectively.
Sale of the B 250 e starts in a few weeks with their market launch to take place this year.
Under the hood lies a 1.33-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine that, together with the electric motor, provides a system output of 218hp and 450Nm of torque that gets managed by an eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox.
The lithium-ion (Li-ion) high-voltage battery has a total capacity of approx. 15.6kWh that can be charged with alternating or direct current.
The compact PHEVs can be charged at a 7.4kW Wallbox with alternating current (AC) within 1h 45mins from 10 to 100% SoC (Status of Charge).
For direct-current charging (DC) the battery can be charged from 10 to 80% SoC in around 25 minutes.
The batteries are supplied by wholly-owned Daimler subsidiary Deutsche ACCUMOTIVE.
The high-voltage battery is water-cooled and weighs approximately 150kg and, according to Mercedes-Benz, does not infringe on boot capacity.
For performance qualities, 0 to 100kph sprint times can be as low as 6.6 seconds with a top speed of 235kph (140kph in full electric mode), 70 TO 75km of electric range and the ability to take on a trailer load of up to 1,600kg (braked).
For the first time in a Mercedes-Benz vehicle, the combustion engine is started by the electric motor - the compact hybrids do not have a separate 12-volt starter.
Rather than extending the exhaust system to the end of the vehicle, the exhaust actually ends in a centrally positioned outlet under the vehicle floor, with the rear silencer housed in the transmission tunnel.
Integrating the fuel tank into the axle installation space creates room beneath the rear seats for the high-voltage battery.
This results in a minimal reduction in boot capacity for the A 250 e and B 250 e compared to the sister models without hybrid engines.
Because the compact vehicles use third-generation plug-in technology, all of their functions are also available.
These include in particular the intelligent, route-based operating strategy, taking factors such as navigation data, speed regulations and route into account.
The operating strategy takes into account the entire planned route and prioritises the electric driving mode for the most sensible route sections in each case.
With the launch of MBUX (Mercedes-Benz User Experience) the previous plug-in operating modes of all EQ Power models have been converted to drive programs.
That means that in every Mercedes-Benz plug-in hybrid the new drive programs "Electric" and "Battery Level" are available. This is the case from the outset for the compact models.
Maximum e-performance can be experienced in "Electric" mode the combustion engine is only engaged if the driver uses the kickdown at the bottom of the accelerator pedal.
In the "Electric" program the recuperation strength can also be selected via paddles behind the steering wheel. The paddles on the steering wheel enable the selection of five different recuperation levels (DAUTO, D+, D, D- and D--).
Comfort, ECO and Sport modes are also available. According to the given requirements, the driver is able to give priority to electric driving, place the emphasis on driving dynamics in combined drive mode or give preference to combustion mode in order to save electric range, for example.
A key comfort feature is pre-entry climate control before the vehicle is started because the A 250 e and B 250 e have an electric refrigerant compressor which can be activated via smartphone.
