Powering a New Class of Hybrids

Mercedes has announced plans to produce the first hybrid cars with
powerful lithium-ion batteries. The cars won't roll off the assembly
lines until 2009, but the Germans are hoping to break Japanese
dominance of the electric-motor market.

Mercedes-Benz will unveil a new car battery this week. It uses about
as much space as a conventional lead battery (meant only to start
engines), but it packs a whopping 120 volts — about ten times the
power of its more ordinary cousin — and it will be used, starting
next year, in the luxury Mercedes S-Class line of hybrids.

The S-Class will be the world's first

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