Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) not only makes its own electric vehicles but also offers its technology for competitors to use, and Mercedes-Benz has taken the company up on its offer. Jalopnik reports that the 2015 B-Class Electric Drive car from Mercedes-Benz is the company’s first “volume production” electric car that uses Tesla’s electric powertrain technology.
Details on the Tesla-powered Mercedes-Benz
The B-Class Electric boasts a range of up to 142 miles per charge. The car is able to speed up to 62 miles per hour in just 7.9 seconds. It sports a 180 horsepower electric motor with 250 foot pounds of torque.
Just like with Tesla’s Model S, the car’s electric batteries are in the floor of the car. According to Mercedes, the B-Class Electric holds five adults. The back seat lays down flat to lengthen the size of the trunk if needed.
It takes about four hours to charge the car using the included fast charging cable at a wall box or public charging station. A standard 230 volt outlet will take nine hours to charge the car.
Tesla and other automakers
Of course Mercedes-Benz isn’t the only automaker to make use of Tesla’s technology. However, the partnership between Tesla and Toyota Motor Corp (ADR) (NYSE:TM) (TYO:7203) ended without a remarkable number of electric Rav4s being sold, demonstrating a lack of success there. Finding Tesla’s tech in a Mercedes-Benz seems to make more sense, however, as the two luxury automakers both target the same market.
This year there has been talk of Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (ETR:BMW) (FRA:BMW) partnering with Tesla, but the German automaker discounted the remarks made by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, saying a partnership is unlikely. Meanwhile BMW continues to try to chip away at Tesla’s strong market share in electric luxury vehicles and is apparently planning to roll out a charging network that’s similar to Tesla’s Supercharger network.
