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New Mercedes B-Class Electric Drive goes in to production

The first Mercedes B-Class ED (pictured) rolls off the production line in Rastatt With the BMW i3 grabbing headlines – and flying out of showrooms – as BMW’s first electric car, Mercedes need to play catch-up with a convincing EV of their own, and that’s the new B-Class Electric Drive – an EV version of the regular B-Class – which has now gone in to production in Germany. Built alongside regular ICE versions of the B-Class at Mercedes’ Rastatt Plant, the B-Class ED (Electric Drive) looks practically the same as its more conventionally powered siblings – although the front bumper does look a bit different – and has an electric motor good for 177 bhp and 250 lb/ft of torque, can manage a scoot to 62 mph in 7.9 seconds and has a range of up to 124 miles. The range – at least the quoted range – is a chunk better than the BMW i3′s and on a par with the latest Nissan LEAF, thanks to EV technology provided by Tesla, and the wrapping of an EV drivetrain in a conventional series production car could appeal to more buyers than the ‘statement’ design of the BMW i3.

Mercedes fued fuels F1 interest

IT REMAINS far from being Senna/Prost, Mansell/Piquet, Hunt/Lauda, but Formula One again has a rivalry to stir the senses and excite the masses. If Bernie Ecclestone was starting to grow anxious about the decline in global television audience figures, the feud between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton is manna from heaven for the sport's supremo. Prior to Sunday's controversial collision in the Belgian Grand Prix, and the explosive remarks from Hamilton that followed, the head-to-head had resembled nothing more than a playground squabble.

China's Pang Da, Youngman agree to buy Saab

Chinese firms Pang Da Automobile Trade Co. and Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co. have agreed to buy Saab for $142 million (100 million euros).