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F-Cell World Drive Enters Final, Longest Leg

On the road for several months now, the three Mercedes Benz B-Klasse vehicles equipped with a fuel cell power train are heading back to Germany, after attending last week the Shanghai Auto Show and passing a few days ago through Beijing.

This final portion of the trip, the longest since the caravan departed on January 30 from Germany, heading west, will bring the models back to their hometown. For now, the models, together with their drive trains, managed to handle the task extremely well, despite encountering, from place to place, more than a few problems related to refueling with hydrogen.

Over the next period, the three models will reach countries that are not at all that familiar with the fuel cell technology, like Kazakhstan and Russia, but also countries that have long expressed their support for alternative means of transportation, like Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and, in the end, Germany.

Mercedes' approach to electric vehicles, the F-Cell models, are powered by fuel cell system which comprises a 136 hp electric motor (290 Nm of torque) with cold-start capability, the model is capable of reaching 250 miles (400 km) before refueling with hydrogen.

This type of car, however, will take longer to catch on, according to a study conducted by Pike Research. According to the numbers and projections, fuel cell EVs will not pass the 10,000 units sold mark by the middle of the decade (most of those vehicles being test cars). In 2015, Pike says 57,000 FCVs will be sold and, following that year, the market would grow to a total of 390,000 vehicles annually. The first million fuel cell vehicles will not be sold before 2020.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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