German Car Zone

Daimler to Announce Strategic Partnership

Daimler AG (NYSE: DAI) will announce a new strategic cooperation to make electro mobility a reality.

Press is invited to join the live webcast of the announcement press conference in Stuttgart, Germany, on Tuesday, May 19 at 7:00 am EDT. Login to live Webcast on May 19 at 7:00 am EDT English: Webcast Press Conference, May 19th, 2009 | Daimler > Technology & Innovation

Dr. Thomas Weber, member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Group Research & Mercedes-Benz Cars Development, will present details of the partnership jointly with a key executive of our strategic partner.

Associated Press

Daimler takes stake in US electric car maker Tesla

By MATT MOORE

German automaker Daimler AG said Tuesday it has acquired a nearly 10 percent stake in California-based electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc. as part of plans to ramp up its own electric car production.

The two companies are already working together on using Tesla's lithium-ion battery packs and charging electronics in Daimler's electric version of its two-seat Smart car.

The stake's value was not disclosed, but Weber said it was in the double-digit millions.

Thomas Weber, research and development chief at Daimler's Mercedes-Benz Cars unit, said the stake will let the two companies work more closely on developing better battery and electric drive systems for vehicles destined for the consumer market.

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said in a statement that the partnership would help it bring the Tesla Model S car to production faster and "ensure that it is a superlative vehicle on all levels."

As part of the deal, Daimler vice president Herbert Kohler will take a seat on Tesla's board of directors.

Daimler, along with other automakers, is working on developing more battery and electric-powered cars. Earlier this year, it founded the Deutsche Accumotive GmbH, a joint venture with Evonik Industries AG.

Daimler has been testing a fleet of 100 electric-powered Smart fortwo cars in London and, later this year, will start production of up to 1,000 of the cars at its assembly plant in Hambach, France.

"The next step will be an electrified Smart with a Tesla battery pack," Weber said. "This car will be available on the market at the end of this year."

Tesla, headquartered in San Carlos, California, has earned praise for its low-slung Roadster, the $109,000 two-seat electric sports car that can get more than 200 miles on a single charge with an acceleration of zero to 60 mph (96 kph) in just under 4 seconds.

The Tesla Model S is an all-electric, 5-door sedan that can carry up to seven people as far as 300 miles (483 kilometers) on a single charge. It was unveiled in March and production is set to begin in late 2011.

The sticker price for the Model S will be $49,900 (euro 36,979) after a $7,500 federal rebate for buying an electric vehicle.

The Model S and the Roadster can be charged by plugging into wall sockets.






Copyright 2009 Associated Press.

very cool... i wonder how telsa is doing generally. don't really hear much of them....

Here's a recent video interview of Tesla CEO Elon Musk at the Churchill Club, where he explains for example why Tesla prefers all-electric vehicles over range extended electric vehicles like the GM Volt.

The video is pretty long, like an hour, since he also dwelves into Space-X.

VIDEO: Elon Musk misrepresents Chevy Volt performance, Tesla getting few new orders for Roadster

The news was justed posted on the Daimler server:


Strategic partnership: Daimler acquires stake in Tesla

• German automaker acquires nearly 10 percent of one of the leading electric vehicle companies
• Automakers agreed to cooperate in battery systems, electric drive systems and vehicle projects

Stuttgart, Germany, and San Carlos, Calif., May 19, 2009

Daimler AG has acquired an equity stake of nearly 10 percent of Tesla Motors Inc. This investment deepens the relationship between the inventor of the automobile and the newest member of the global auto industry. Tesla is the only production automaker selling a highway capable electric vehicle in North America and Europe.

The two companies have already been working closely to integrate Tesla’s lithium-ion battery packs and charging electronics into the first 1,000 units of Daimler’s electric smart car. In order to benefit from each other’s know-how, the investment enables the partners to collaborate even more closely on the development of battery systems, electric drive systems and in individual vehicle projects.

"Our strategic partnership is an important step to accelerate the commercialization of electric drives globally," said Dr. Thomas Weber, Member of the Board of Daimler AG, responsible for Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development. "As a young and dynamic company, Tesla stands for visionary power and pioneering spirit. Together with Daimler’s 120 years of experience in the automotive sector this collaboration is a unique combination of two company’s strengths. This marks another important milestone in Daimler’s strategy for sustainable mobility.”

“Daimler has set the benchmark for engineering excellence and vehicle quality for more than a century. It is an honor and a powerful endorsement of our technology that Daimler would choose to invest in and partner with Tesla,” said Tesla CEO and Product Architect Elon Musk. “Daimler is also on the leading edge in the field of sustainable mobility. Among others the lithium-ion pouch-cell battery developed by Daimler and especially designed for automotive applications is of interest to us. We are looking forward to a strategic cooperation in a number of areas including leveraging Daimler’s engineering, production and supply chain expertise. This will accelerate bringing our Tesla Model S to production and ensure that it is a superlative vehicle on all levels.”

Together on the road to electro-mobility

As part of the collaboration, Prof. Herbert Kohler, Vice President E-Drive and Future Mobility at Daimler AG, will take a seat on Tesla’s board of directors.

This long-term partnership with Tesla complements Daimler’s multi-facetted strategy to advance the electrification of the automobile.

Daimler is also moving forward the industrialization of lithium-ion technology. In March, the company founded the Deutsche Accumotive GmbH, a joint venture with Evonik Industries AG. As a result, Daimler is the first vehicle manufacturer worldwide that develops, produces and markets batteries for automotive applications. This is based on a Daimler stockholding in Li-Tec, the German specialist for lithium-ion battery cells.

100 smart electric cars have already been undergoing large-scale trials in London since 2007. These electric vehicles are being tested in day-to-day assignments by fleet operators and private customers.

Later this year the smart assembly plant in Hambach, France, will start production of up to 1,000 units of the second-generation smart fortwo with electric drive, which will initially be used for mobility projects such as e-mobility Berlin or e-mobility Italy. This year Daimler is also starting small-series production of the Mercedes-Benz B-Class with a fuel cell drive system. In 2010 the company will introduce its first battery-powered Mercedes-Benz. As of 2012, Daimler plans to equip all smart and Mercedes-Benz electric vehicles with own produced lithium-ion batteries.

In 2004, Tesla began development of its first electric vehicle, the Roadster, which remains the only highway capable EV for sale in North America or Europe. The Tesla Roadster is the first production battery electric vehicle to travel more than 200 miles per charge and the first US- and EU-certified lithium-ion battery electric vehicle. This green supercar accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds yet gets the equivalent of 256 miles per gallon. The Roadster, which travels an estimated 244 miles per charge with zero tailpipe emissions, is the first production vehicle to break the historical compromise between automobile performance and efficiency.

The Tesla Model S builds upon the success of the Tesla Roadster by leveraging its technology into the world’s first fully electric sedan. Based in Silicon Valley, Tesla unveiled the Model S in March and plans to produce it in California starting in late 2011.

First pictures are coming out...

Daimler Takes 10 Percent Stake in Tesla



One of the oldest automakers joined one of the newest Tuesday as Daimler took an equity stake of “nearly 10 percent” in Tesla Motors, a deal that will bear fruit later this year when the German company launches the electric Smart ForTwo.

The deal provides Daimler with batteries and the know-how needed to bring an electric car to market “at the highest possible speed,” company officials said. In exchange, Tesla gets a big pile of cash and, perhaps more importantly, the parts and engineering expertise it needs to build the Model S sedan.

“Tesla brings expertise in the battery electric front,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk said during a press conference carried live via webcast from Daimler’s headquarters in Stuttgart. “Daimler brings expertise in everything else. This will be a very productive relationship where both Tesla and Daimler benefit.”

Neither company provided specific details of the deal, but Daimler officials said its investment is “a double-digit million sum for a nearly 10 percent stake in Tesla Motors.” Herbert Kohler, vice president of E-Drive and Future Mobility at Daimler, also takes a seat on Tesla’s board of directors. The German automaker will provide components and engineering assistance to Tesla, presumably to aid in the development of the Model S sedan Tesla unveiled in March.

“We are about to combine the best of old and new school,” said Thomas Weber, director of group research at Daimler. That’s him in the Roadster with Musk. “We are both deeply convinced that electric powertrains will
play a major role in sustainability mobility.”






Dr. Dieter Zetsche, President and CEO of Daimler AG, with the Smart EV in September.



Daimler is expanding on a deal Tesla announced earlier this year to provide 1,000 battery packs and charging technology for Daimler’s forthcoming Smart EV. One hundred Smart EVs have been undergoing field tests in London since 2007. Weber said the German automaker will have 900 more on the road by the end of this year. Those vehicles will be dedicated to test fleets to refine the vehicle, which Weber said will go into mass production at a factory in Hambach, France, in 2012.

“We’re talking about production figures of five figures and above,” Weber said. He did not say what the car, which will be sold globally, might cost.
Although the Smart EV is still three years from mass production, Daimler has been experimenting with electric vehicles since the 1970s. Weber said the company has grown increasingly convinced the future of the automobile lies in zero emissions mobility, and to that end is working toward battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Although it will continue developing fuel cells, it joins a growing roster of automakers racing to bring cars with cords to market.

Daimler already holds a 49.1 percent share in Li-Tek, a battery subsidiary of the German firm Evonik, in a joint venture called Deutsche Accumotive. Daimler told us in January that it will use Li-Tek batteries as Smart EV production ramps up, and nothing it said today suggests that will change. Tesla assembles its packs from lithium-cobalt cells commonly used in laptop batteries, but Musk said the company is “battery agnostic” and suggested it could start using Li-Tek batteries once they’re available.
Although Daimler is using Tesla’s packs to jumps-start the Smart EV program, it isn’t batteries the company is after. What it really wants is Tesla’s experience using them in electric vehicles. It will draw upon Tesla’s battery management and charging technology and the Silicon Valley firm’s electric drivetrain engineering. Weber said the partnership is “the quickest, most straightforward solution” to the question of how to bring an electric vehicle to market quickly.

“We believe that, with our partnership, we have taken another step toward vehicle electrification,” he said.

The partnership comes at a critical time for Tesla. The company was down to $9 million at one point last year and it went through a round of layoffs in October. It also closed its research and development center in Rochester Hills, near Detroit. More recently, the company effectively increased the cost of the Roadster to “guarantee viability.” That said, Musk has remained upbeat and says the company will be profitable this year.

The Daimler deal will help. Beyond injecting cash into the company, it provides Tesla with help building the Model S. “There is a clear part in our contract that we will share our experience and engineering,” Weber said.
No one said how big a role Daimler might play in developing the S, but there is a lot of work to be done. Although the company rolled out a pair of gorgeous prototypes in March, Dan Neil of the Los Angeles Times is the only person outside the company known to have actually driven one. He called it “just barely ambulatory — more like a glorified golf cart than a harbinger of tomorrow tech.” Franz von Holzhausen, the car’s designer, conceded the S is “90 percent there on outside and about 40 percent there on the inside.”

The company also hopes to receive a $350 million loan from the Department of Energy to build the factory it will need to produce the S. Musk remains confident the loan will come through, and Victor Morgenstern, one of the company’s biggest investors, was recently overheard saying the feds could make a decision by the end of the month.

Musk claimed during the press conference that “Tesla does not need capital immediately” and said, “We could have gotten a higher share price from a financial partner.” He didn’t say who that partner, if one exists, might have been, and said Tesla opted to work with Daimler because it could provide technical and manufacturing expertise in addition to capital. The S has generated a lot of excitement within the EV community, and Tesla has racked up more than 1,000 orders for the car. Musk, ever the optimist, remains confident he will meet the 2011 timeline he’s laid out.

“We are looking forward to a strategic cooperation in a number of areas including leveraging Daimler’s engineering, production and supply chain expertise,” he said. “This will accelerate bringing our Tesla Model S to production and ensure that it is a superlative vehicle on all levels.”


POST UPDATED 9:50 a.m. EDT and 11 a.m. EDT.

Smart move Daimler - ahem - if you'll excuse the pun.

Mercedes-Benz is really into electric cars! It's good, they act for the long-term.

The next 20 years will se a huge loit of change in the automotive department.

New types of energy (electric, fuel-cell, hybrids, KERS, heat recuperation)

New brands (like Tesla, Bolloré, maybe Venturi could come back strong), disappearance of some of the old who couldn't adapt (it already started with the Americans)...

New ways of ownership, with the trend to car-rent, trend increased with the concept of the electric car with batteries belonging to the carmaker, that you exchange instead of recharge when they're empty...

Clean, almost servicing-free electric based car will replace the dirty, noisy, vibrating, polluting, always-to-service combustion engine.

Will the passion disappear with it? Will the car mute to a mere object or will it keep the cult-status it currently has?

Great move. Electric cars are a pain to develop and sharing costs couldn't be a much wiser decisions. I would be surprised if Frisker joined in for a full threesome.

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

- German automaker acquires nearly 10 percent of one of the leading electric vehicle companies

- Automakers agreed to cooperate in battery systems, electric drive systems and vehicle projects

Stuttgart/San Carlos, Germany/California, May 19, 2009 - Daimler AG has acquired an equity stake of nearly 10 percent of Tesla Motors Inc. This investment deepens the relationship between the inventor of the automobile and the newest member of the global auto industry. Tesla is the only production automaker selling a highway capable electric vehicle in North America and Europe.


The two companies have already been working closely to integrate Tesla’s lithium-ion battery packs and charging electronics into the first 1,000 units of Daimler’s electric smart car. In order to benefit from each other’s know-how, the investment enables the partners to collaborate even more closely on the development of battery systems, electric drive systems and in individual vehicle projects.

"Our strategic partnership is an important step to accelerate the commercialization of electric drives globally," said Dr. Thomas Weber, Member of the Board of Daimler AG, responsible for Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development. "As a young and dynamic company, Tesla stands for visionary power and pioneering spirit. Together with Daimler’s 120 years of experience in the automotive sector this collaboration is a unique combination of two company’s strengths. This marks another important milestone in Daimler’s strategy for sustainable mobility.”

“Daimler has set the benchmark for engineering excellence and vehicle quality for more than a century. It is an honor and a powerful endorsement of our technology that Daimler would choose to invest in and partner with Tesla,” said Tesla CEO and Product Architect Elon Musk. “Daimler is also on the leading edge in the field of sustainable mobility. Among others the lithium-ion pouch-cell battery developed by Daimler and especially designed for automotive applications is of interest to us. We are looking forward to a strategic cooperation in a number of areas including leveraging Daimler’s engineering, production and supply chain expertise. This will accelerate bringing our Tesla Model S to production and ensure that it is a superlative vehicle on all levels.”

Together on the road to electro-mobility

As part of the collaboration, Prof. Herbert Kohler, Vice President E-Drive and Future Mobility at Daimler AG, will take a seat on Tesla’s board of directors.
This long-term partnership with Tesla complements Daimler’s multi-facetted strategy to advance the electrification of the automobile. Daimler is also moving forward the industrialization of lithium-ion technology. In March, the company founded the Deutsche Accumotive GmbH, a joint venture with Evonik Industries AG. As a result, Daimler is the first vehicle manufacturer worldwide that develops, produces and markets batteries for automotive applications. This is based on a Daimler stockholding in Li-Tec, the German specialist for lithium-ion battery cells.

100 smart electric cars have already been undergoing large-scale trials in London since 2007. These electric vehicles are being tested in day-to-day assignments by fleet operators and private customers.

Later this year the smart assembly plant in Hambach, France, will start production of up to 1,000 units of the second-generation smart fortwo with electric drive, which will initially be used for mobility projects such as e-mobility Berlin or e-mobility Italy. This year Daimler is also starting small-series production of the Mercedes-Benz B-Class with a fuel cell drive system. In 2010 the company will introduce its first battery-powered Mercedes-Benz. As of 2012, Daimler plans to equip all smart and Mercedes-Benz electric vehicles with own produced lithium-ion batteries.

In 2004, Tesla began development of its first electric vehicle, the Roadster, which remains the only highway capable EV for sale in North America or Europe. The Tesla Roadster is the first production battery electric vehicle to travel more than 200 miles per charge and the first US- and EU-certified lithium-ion battery electric vehicle. This green supercar accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds yet gets the equivalent of 256 miles per gallon. The Roadster, which travels an estimated 244 miles per charge with zero tailpipe emissions, is the first production vehicle to break the historical compromise between automobile performance and efficiency.

The Tesla Model S builds upon the success of the Tesla Roadster by leveraging its technology into the world’s first fully electric sedan. Based in Silicon Valley, Tesla unveiled the Model S in March and plans to produce it in California starting in late 2011.



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