2019 Mercedes-Benz GLC F-Cell - The first SUV that runs on both fuel cells and batteries

The 2019 Mercedes-Benz GLC F-Cell will come by the end of 2019, according to the latest reports. The newest version of the compact crossover has its premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show. To remind you, GLC is a new compact crossover that came two years ago, as a replacement for the outgoing GLK model.
With the new naming policy, the company also introduced a new crossover. This should be one of the best-selling models from the famous company, so there are various versions of it in the offer. There are standard gasoline and diesel powertrains in the offer, as well as hybrid version. Moreover, there is even a body style, in order to compete with BMW models. Now, we are about to see a completely new version, which will feature a fuel cell powertrain. Besides new powertrain, 2019 GLC F-Cell comes with several other modifications, even in terms of styling.

Read Article

TomM - 9/22/2017 7:52:10 AM

+1 Boost

NYC has just set aside $10 million dollars to create 5 charging HUBS - one in each of the 5 boroughs - with up to 20 chargers each. Even if you happen to live or work near one - there is no guarantee they will be available for you - up to 100 chargers for a few million people is a drop in the bucket.

What NYC would need is whole Parking Garages - with hundreds of charging stations per garage - and that still would not be enough for all of the people who live there and have no ability to put in their own chargers.

Mercedes is planning a fuel cell vehicle - and just as there is no significant infrastructure for EVS - there is almost none for Fuel Cells as well. These articles are nice - but it will be LONG after I die before either of these technologies have the infrastructure available for them to take a sizable chunk of the market. IT is ICE HYBRIDS that will dominate the market eventually - not pure EVs or fuel cells - for at least 30 or more years from now. Noting that you cannot get all the approvals needed to build new generation plants in 20 years often here in the USA - the electricity won't be available for all the hybrids claimed.

CANADIANCOMMENTS - 9/22/2017 8:47:34 AM

+1 Boost

TomM As other articles about this new Benz have alluded to, the game changer will be the shrinking of the water/hydrogen separator so that it is small enough to fit in the vehicle. When this happens you will be able to fill your vehicle with water, hydrogen will be extracted and then converted into electricity by the Fuel Cell onboard. That sounds like the future.

TheSteve - 9/22/2017 11:50:44 AM

+1 Boost

The most optimistic estimates say that by the end of 2017, there should be "more than 50" hydrogen filling stations across America. Currently there are 40, with 36 in California (see https://www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/hydrogen_locations.html).

With Hydrogen coming in at double the the price of gasoline per mile, and requiring around 3x the electricity (to produce the hydrogen fuel) as compared to a pure EV needs per mile, judge for yourself how smart a fuel cell vehicle is in your locale, and for your driving needs.

I predict very few fuel cell vehicles will be sold in the coming years, with most of them going to government or "ties with government" agencies, and not ordinary consumers.

CANADIANCOMMENTS - 9/24/2017 8:40:49 PM

+1 Boost

TheSteve. All valid points to where we are presently due to technology in 2017. There is a reason Toyota, Honda and Mercedes are pursuing this sort of propulsion. Toyota has even stated that BEV's are a stepping stone to fuel-cell cars. Maybe they know something we don't? As for the immediate future we are about to enter the era of the battery. How far it will go displacing ICE engines will be for us all to see.