Horst Von Sanden, Managing Director, Mercedes-Benz Cars
Innovation is driven in Mercedes-Benz by the core values of the
corporation and the needs of our customers - safety, luxury and
performance. Technology and environment are treated as equal
partners in our development processes.
Since the late 1970s Mercedes-Benz has been conducting intensive
research and development work on battery-powered vehicles. This
research and development is not only extremely expensive, but it
can test the resolve of engineers as there is no guarantee that it
will actually work in the outside world. However, innovation has
been proved to be the correct course despite many setbacks.
Over the last 30 years, Mercedes-Benz engineers have registered
more than 600 patents relating to battery powered vehicles - more
than 230 of them in the field of lithium-ion technology. With the
world's first integration of lithium-ion technology into a hybrid
vehicle, a major milestone has been reached on the road to
sustainable mobility. The lithium-ion battery will also be applied
in vehicles powered by fuel cells or batteries. Mercedes-Benz
continues to demonstrate their sustainability for daily use with
fleet trials such as the Smart Fortwo electric drive in London.
Electronic safety innovations commenced with the introduction of
the anti-lock braking system (ABS) followed by the electronic
stability program (ESP), the brake assist system, Distronic
intelligent cruise control, crash crumple zones, airbags, seat-belt
tensioners, sidebags, belt force limiters, window bags and other
technical milestones, which show the achievements from almost seven
decades of intensive passive safety development and innovation work
at Mercedes-Benz.
