Technology

The all-electric car is a vehicle that only runs on electric power. An all-electric vehicle is different from a hybrid in the sense that a hybrid has the option of multiple fuels, usually electric and petrol, but these days hydrogen is becoming an electric fuel as well. The stored chemical energy in the batter is used to turn individual turbines at each wheel to propel the car. Therefore, it has no internal combustion. The Mercedes-Benz research centre at Stuttgart has revealed information regarding Daimler AG developing an all-electric version of Mercies luxury sedan, The S-Class that runs on lithium ion batteries. The battery will have two options for charging the first is a direct plug-in method in to a wall socket, like most conventional electric car and appliances. The second is through a dynamo like device fitted within the car that charges the battery through kinetic energy while the car is driving. The dynamo is similar to a turbine and will convert the kinetic energy in to stored chemical energy in the battery. However, the dynamo cannot fully charge the battery as the power generated will be consumed simultaneously. On one full charge, the battery can drive the car up to 170 kilometers or 105 miles.  There has also been news that in 2011, Mercedes will produce an all electric version of its new high performance luxury supercar, the SLS AMG. The SLS will use similar technology to the lithium-ion battery.  (Mercedes-Benz developing 100 electric car, 2008)
Pros
All-electric cars have an advantage that they are less complex to build and manage than hybrid cars. They have simpler mechanisms similar to laptop computers. In fact, the all-electric sports car, the Tesla Roadster runs on over a 100 laptop computer batteries.
The advantages of this technology includes the fact that it is environment friendly a regular S-class has a 6.0 liter V12 engine that consumes high-octane petrol and gives an average mileage of 16-18 miles per gallon. The electric powered vehicle will give 105 miles on a single charge. The luxury sedan will be affordable to run.
The car will also have zero carbon emissions, compared to petrol powered cars and are completely environment friendly. Performance will be similar to its petrol-powered counterpart.  (Mercedes-Benz developing 100 electric car, 2008)
Cons
Some disadvantages include the time for fully charging the cars battery. A petrol-powered S-class tank would fill up in a matter of minutes, while the lithium battery of the new S-class takes about six hours.
Another disadvantage is that there are still not enough charging stations along highways and motorways, so if a car runs out of power, it will have to be plugged in to a household or commercial wall socket, causing a lot of inconvenience.
Electric power cars are much more expensive than normal petrol powered cars. Recently, hybrid cars have become more affordable but all-electric cars are much expensive. The price of the S-Class, which is expected to be much higher than the petrol powered version. Mercedes states that the price of the vehicle depends on the option of whether the lithium-ion batteries will be purchased by the customer or leased.  (Mercedes-Benz developing 100 electric car, 2008)