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Mercedes A-Class next up for facelift

This is the coming Mercedes-Benz A-Class, and in case the paucity of camouflage didn't make it clear, it won't look much different the one that's been on sale for all of two years. Caught in Sweden braving the temperatures, its exterior updates aren't expected to go much further than a reworked face that brings it in line with the recently updated B-Class, including a new grille, headlights and taillights, and bumpers. The cabin is where most of the work is being done, to give it a better punch against the BMW 1 Series. A tweaked dash cluster, better fabrics and materials, the eight-inch tablet-style nav/multimedia screen, and ambient lighting should join the party. The updated range of B-Class engines should also make the jump into the A. A photo caught at a dealer meeting in Barcelona last year makes us pretty sure it will be introduced at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September this year. Until then, there are spy shots to peruse.

Mercedes may end Tesla supply agreement for B-Class Electric Drive

The Mercedes-Benz B Class Electric Drive has only been rolling off the production line for 17 months, each one equipped with a battery pack and drivetrain from Tesla Motors, but already there is talk of big upcoming changes. According to a report from the German publication Auto Motor und Sport, the next-generation version of this model will see an end to the Tesla-supplied tech and a hugely improved range. Currently, the electric sedan gets an EPA-rated 87 miles of range, using 28 kWhs of its 36-kWh battery, though its now-standard "Range Plus" package takes advantage of more of the pack, stretching that driving to 100 miles or so. It may take a year or several – the model just had a refresh – but expect those distance digits to double. The rumored range is said to be 500 km (310.7 miles), but since that would likely be calculated using the European drive cycle, expect something significantly lower stateside; say 220-ish official miles. This would be in keeping with expectations from a number of battery-powered competitors in the 2017-2018 time frame. It is unknown if this supposed next-gen B Class Electric Drive is in any way related to the rumored "Ecoluxe" program. The Tesla/Daimler relationship stretches back to 2009, when the Stuttgart-based outfit made a significant investment in the California automaker, quite possibly saving it from extinction in the process. We have reached out Mercedes-Benz about this report, but as of this writing, have not had a reply. We will update this post when we hear back. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2015 Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive: Paris 2014 View 13 Photos Green Rumormill Mercedes-Benz Tesla Electric Sedan electric drive electric drivetrain

First Mercedes B-Class Electric Drive rolls off line, coming to US soon

Mercedes-Benz is about to give Americans another choice of battery-powered vehicle. Offering more all-electric range than the Nissan Leaf or BMW i3, and with a smaller price tag than the Tesla Model S, the B-Class Electric Drive is officially set to arrive in the US this summer. Indeed, the first examples have begun rolling off the production line in Rastatt, Germany. Featuring drivetrain parts from Tesla Motors, the luxury compact hits all the performance parameters mentioned during its debut at last year's New York Auto Show. For a refresher, that's a single-charge range of 200 kilometers (124 miles) along with a 0-to-100 kilometer-per-hour (62 mile-per-hour) sprint in a respectable 7.9 seconds. These achievements comes courtesy of a 28-kWh lithium battery located in the floor of the passenger compartment and a 132-kW (177-horsepower) motor powering the front wheels. Torque specs for the unit seemed to have increased somewhat and are now given as 340 Newton meters (250.77 pound-feet). It boasts an 11-kW charger and can add as much as 62 miles of range to a deleted battery in an hour and a half. Sadly, it is not Supercharger compatible. The B-Class Electric Drive, which is built on the same production line as the gasoline-powered version, is going to go on sale in Europe around the end of the year and will also come in a right-hand drive version for other markets in 2015. Although pricing has not yet been announced, Mercedes execs expect it to be quite competitive with the BMW i3. Scroll below for the press release (Google translated from German). Model offensive: Mercedes-Benz launches first major series for electric cars - the start of production at Mercedes-Benz in Rastatt: B-Class Electric Drive begins For the first time large-scale production of Mercedes-Benz models with internal combustion engine and electric drive on the same line Stefan Abraham: "With the B-Class Electric Drive we are expanding our production portfolio at the Rastatt plant is a highly innovative drive variant." In the Mercedes-Benz plant in Rastatt today through the first B-Class Electric Drive off the line. This makes Mercedes-Benz models are produced with internal combustion engine and electric drive on the same line at the site for the first time. The B-Class Electric Drive is based on the Mercedes-Benz front-wheel drive architecture of the new Mercedes-Benz compact car generation and uses the modular component kit.