Daimler to Build 500 Charging Station Network For Electric Smart Car

Daimler and electricity company RWE have launched a joint battery-car and recharging station test project in the German capital called "E-Mobility Berlin".

This is Daimler's second battery-car test project. Electric Smart cars started a trial as fleet vehicles for the police and other services in London in 2007.

The companies announced at a media conference that Daimler would provide more than 100 battery-powered Mercedes and Smart cars

Daimler will provide more than 100 battery-powered Mercedes and Smarts. RWE said it would install and operate about 500 charging stations.

The program will begin testing in 2009 and should come on line at the end of that year, with support from the German federal government.

Daimler said the cars would be powered by specially developed lithium-ion batteries that provide more range and shorter charge time than conventional batteries.

These batteries, it said, would have a range of about 60 miles; 90 percent of German citizens generally drove less than that each day.