Today, Daimler introduced a new all-electric vehicle under its Denza brand in partnership with BYD in China. The vehicle, called Denza 400, is based on the Mercedes-Benz B-Class platform, which is already offered in an all-electric version in Europe, but the Denza 400 features a new 62 kWh battery pack.
The new higher energy capacity pack could hint at what Daimler plans to introduce in its upcoming lineup of electric vehicles under Mercedes’ new EV brand.
In a press release today, Daimler writes about the Denza 400:
“The DENZA 400 features improved battery density achieved through an upgraded production process that increases the battery’s capacity from 47.5 kWh to 62 kWh while maintaining the original size. With an upgraded range of up to 400 km, most Chinese consumers, who generally drive 50 to 80 km per day, will only need to recharge their DENZA 400 once per week.”
While the 400 km (~250 miles) claim is probably less in real-world range, it’s interesting to see Daimler-BYD able to fit 62 kWh on the Mercedes B-Class platform. It’s actually more energy than the Chevy Bolt EV’s 60 kWh pack and the expected base Tesla Model 3 battery pack which should have less than 60 kWh of energy.
While it’s not exactly clear what batteries Daimler-BYD are using for the Denza 400, Mercedes announced that it will build its own battery packs with the cells supplied by SK.
Prior to the partnership with SK, the Mercedes B-Class EV, Mercedes’ only all-electric vehicle, was outsourcing its battery pack manufacturing to Tesla, which itself was sourcing the cells from Panasonic. Just over a year ago, Daimler announced that it would stop using Tesla’s system for the Mercedes B-Class.
Now Mercedes greenlighted 4 new all-electric cars for production, 2 sedans and 2 SUVs. The first vehicle, likely one of the SUVs, is expected to be unveiled, along with the new sub-brand, next month at the Paris Motor Show.
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