The 2017 Mercedes-Benz 500e Plug-In Hybrid will soon get a wireless-charging option, as the Mercedes hybrid powertrain head Jochen Strenkert revealed to Auto Express, at the Geneva Motor Show by the beginning of March.
Launched in Europe in the fall of 2014, the Plug-In Hybrid version of the S-Class will undergo a refreshing procedure. The refreshed model is set to see the light of day next year.
“Mercedes expects battery capacity to double every five years”, is Strenkert’s premonition, so we can only expect a wider green range.
The current S 550e (for the US, it is the S500 for Europe) has an EPA-rated electric range of 14 miles (22 km) and a combined fuel consumption of 58 MPG (4.9 liters per kilometer). The electric power is supplied by an 8.7-killowatt-hour lithium-ion battery via a 7-speed automatic transmission, guaranteeing a 436 HP total output.
In the bull fighting arena of the hybrids, the Mercedes limousine is fighting iconic rivals like the Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid or the BMW 740e xDrive. But the wireless charging feature would put the Benz one step ahead of everyone else.
As the Mercedes-Benz S-Class has always served as a host for the latest technologies developed in Stuttgart, the 2017 S-Class Plug-In Hybrid comes into the world as a game changer set to pave the way for the very convenient wireless charging.
*The photo above shows the 2016 Mercedes-Benz S550e Plug-In Hybrid.
