Mercedes May Launch Hybrid

FRANKFURT, Oct 25, 2004; Reuters reported that DaimlerChrysler's Mercedes-Benz division will launch hybrid cars within five years in key markets such as the United States and Japan, a top executive said in a newspaper interview.

But the world's fifth-biggest carmaker does not think hybrids, which combine a conventional car engine with battery power, can dislodge diesel engines in Europe for the time being, research and development head Thomas Weber told the industry paper Automobilwoche in remarks published on Monday.

A DaimlerChrysler spokeswoman confirmed the report was accurate.

"This will take less than five years and it will be a typical Mercedes-Benz premium vehicle," Weber said of the hybrid development project, giving the first clear timetable on when the German-American carmaker would enter the hybrid market.

"We will establish the car in markets such as the United States and Japan where hybrids could be advantageous, for instance in cities with frequent stop-and-go traffic and in specific other conditions," he said.

"We are focusing on rear-wheel-drive, which covers a wide range of vehicles at Mercedes-Benz," he added.

The company could probably better supply the European market with diesel engines that offer comparable fuel savings, Weber said, but it was ready to roll out hybrids in Europe as well should market conditions change.

He said DaimlerChrysler was considering working on hybrid technology with partners to keep the costs down. "We are fully open to this and are holding talks with appropriate carmakers and suppliers," he was quoted as saying.

Hybrid technology yokes an electric motor to an internal combustion engine so that cars run on battery power at slower speeds. The batteries recharge automatically and capture energy from braking.

Toyota Motor Corp's Prius has emerged at the most popular hybrid.

Other models available in the U.S. market are Honda Motor Co.'s Civic and Insight, which in 1999 became the first gasoline-electric car to be sold in the United States, and Ford Motor Co.'s (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Escape sport utility vehicle.