Mercedes-Benz A250e plug-in hybrid to make its formal appearance soon

Mercedes might come up with a pure electric vehicle, which will have a driving range of 60 km. As per reports, the company might prepare a plug-in hybrid trim of the W177 A-Class. The A-class PHEV is likely to be called the A 250e and will be parked under the company’s EQ line of cars. 

The powertrain might feature a 1.3-litre turbocharged petrol engine (the same engine is used by the A 200). The petrol engine on its own is capable of churning out a maximum power of 163 hp and peak torque of 250 Nm. Moving to the electronic unit, the A 250e is likely to flaunt a gearbox-mounted electric motor producing 101 hp of power and up to 300 Nm of torque. 

Mercedes-Benz insiders stated that the combined powertrain is likely to offer similar performance to the existing A 250. The A 250 puts out 224 hp of power and 350 Nm of torque, which is capable of a 0-100 kmph sprint of 6.2 seconds and a top speed of 250 kmph.

The A 250e is most likely to come with a new eight-speed 8G-DCT gearbox, which is already confirmed for a range of fresh Mercedes-Benz compact variants, including the new GLB. One can expect the gearbox to be tuned to withstand high torque loads. 

The vehicle might feature a 15 kWh lithium-ion battery. If that happens, then it will be considerably larger than even the 12 kWh unit found in the G20 BMW 330e. According to reports, A 250 will achieve a  top speed of 140 kmph in the electric mode. The battery will be placed beneath the boot floor and the company has decreased the fuel tank capacity from 45 litres to 35 litres.