The Enel Special Edition of the Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive and the Nissan Leaf is born. These are two fully electric cars, top of the range and full options, the first in the world in a limited edition with the logo of a large utility.
Presented today in Rome and Milan at the same time, the cars are the product of co-marketing agreements signed by Enel with the two car manufacturers. The goal is to create a group of "ambassadors" of electric mobility and the energy group will also develop ad hoc marketing actions to spread the use of the two cars among its over 32 employees. For example, there is the possibility of long-term rentals to be subsequently transformed into a purchase.
These are offers which, at a later stage, could be extended to Enel customers, but the two cars are “intended for everyone – explains Nicola Lanzetta, head of the Enel Italia brand -. We work on two parallel paths: on the one hand we provide technology, skills and resources for the development of sustainable mobility, on the other we are preparing a study that we will present in July on what initiatives are necessary to allow citizens to use fully electric cars”.
Enel is carrying out a project for the development of "a recharging network spread throughout the territory - says Ernesto Ciorra, director of Innovation and Sustainability of the group - which allows anyone to travel far and wide across our country with the certainty that , when he needs it, he will find a column to recharge his car quickly: 20 minutes in charge, the time it takes to stop in a service area”. At the moment, there are 2.200 columns in Italy, of which 900 are public. The city that has the most is Florence, with 180.
As for the two new cars, the B-Class Electric Drive has an engine with lithium-ion battery that guarantees 180 HP (132 kW) and 340 Nm of maximum torque already at idle speed, with a range of up to 230 kilometres. “We already have 10 hybrid cars in our range – recalls Roland Schell, president of Mercedes Benz Italia – and we are happy to have partners such as Enel Energia at our side on this journey, which has chosen our B-Class Electric Drive for its fleet and for the mobility of collaborators through an offer dedicated to them”.
The Nissan Leaf, on the other hand, has a 30 kW battery with a range of 250 kilometers and a 6 kW charger. "The national electricity grid is unquestionably an integral part of electric mobility - underlines Bruno Matteucci, CEO of Nissan Italy - and we collaborate with Enel with the aim of improving the connection between vehicles, electricity producers, renewable energy sources and in a not far future also buildings”.
