Currently reading: Mercedes-Benz B-class Electric Drive on sale early next year
Mercedes confirms electric B-class will go on sale in the UK in 2015, with prices expected to start at around £32,000 (before the £5000 government grant)

Sales of the Mercedes-Benz B-class Electric Drive will start in the UK in the first quarter of next year, with prices starting at around £32,000.

Mercedes has also recently confirmed pricing for the US version of the model, which will go on sale for $41,450, or around £24,600. The difference in price between US and UK versions is likely to be down to increased specification and equipment lists on European models.

After the UK government's £5000 plug-in vehicle grant, which was recently extended to at least 2017 as part of a £500 million funding boost, the price of the B-class Electric Drive could drop to around £27,000. That means the car will cost some £1320 more than the all-electric BMW i3, which has a list price of £30,680, falling to £25,680 after the plug-in grant.

The new Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive has a claimed all-electric range of around 85 miles. Powering the 1750kg EV is a front-mounted electric motor which makes 177bhp and 250lb ft of torque. Official performance figures show a 0-60mph time of 7.9 seconds and a limited top speed of 100mph. Electricity is stored in a Tesla-made lithium-ion battery.

While visually the Electric Drive appears indistinct from standard B-class models, it gets a newly-styled front bumper and new body-coloured cladding within the wheel arches. Both of those features could be incorporated into the facelifted B-class when it goes on sale later this year, following a debut at the Paris motor show in October.

In the US, the B-class Electric Drive comes with a range of safety features, including Collision Prevention Assist, Blind Spot Assist, Lane Keeping Assist and Active Parking Assist. All the options available for the conventionally powered B-Class, including voice control and Mercedes' Comand infotainment system with internet access will be available for the Electric Drive as well. 

The B-class Electric Drive is being made at Mercedes' plant in Rastatt, Germany - the same factory which currently makes the A- and B-class and the Mercedes-Benz GLA.

Boyan Marinov

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fadyady 1 May 2014

0-60mph sprint is not bad

for a car the size of B-Class. There is little doubt that electric cars have their appeal limited to a small fraction of the buyers (perhaps with the exception of Tesla Model S and BMW i3 who offer performance and handling better than conventional cars for the money) yet the EVs remain an intriguing choice. This appeal would broaden as more car makers enter the race and sort out range and charging issues.
AV 30 April 2014

BYD?

Only name check is chic Slicon Valley darling Tesla. No mention of any shared components with the China market Denza car announced last week.
That car is a thinly disguised electric B Class co-developed by Daimler Benz and BYD.
Have D-B really developed two conceptually identical cars with two entirely separate partners, or are they coy about upsetting status conscious westerners with disclosure of BYD content in this new B Class variant?
Winston Churchill 30 April 2014

They are....

..... a non starter full stop. The technology never advances to the extent that it's useable and the power (and pollution with it) has to come from someone burning something. So what's the point?