In a constant effort to push themselves and their cars further than any other auto manufacturer, Mercedes-Benz often unveils some very cool technology that they end up implementing into their vehicles. Lately, many of their announcements have had to do with safety and the tech behind self-driving cars, but this news is really neat, too.
Using a coil in the ground and a receiver in the undercarriage, the ’18 S550e will be capable of being charged wirelessly, taking a ton of the hassle out of owning and charging an electric vehicle.
If you have ever used wireless charging before, you know how frustrating and unreliable it can be (at least in this author’s experience), and devices are often left undercharged if they even got any juice at all. In contrast to the experiences we might have with consumer electronics, Daimler is reporting that their wireless charging technology boasts an insane 90 percent efficiency at 3.6 kilowatts. Though that rate would be way too low for a purely electric vehicle, it’ll be more than enough for the S550e seeing as it is a hybrid.
The only real downside is that you would actually have to tear into your garage floor and install the wiring and the coil to take advantage of wireless charging at all. Otherwise, the fact that the car has the technology available ends up just being some random piece of trivia rather than a convenient system that was actually worth spending a bit more on a new car for. Although, it will be interesting as more auto manufacturers implement wireless charging to see if the wireless charging coils get installed in parking lots akin to the electric stations you can currently find in many locations.
For that Mercedes-Benz you already own, though, we also offer a wide selection of electrical components and parts to keep your car operating at peak condition.
