Sevilla, Spain - Mercedes is planning to produce a "significant number" of electric-drive Smarts in the current model generation, the head of the car maker's environmental division, Herbert Kohler, has announced.

Without going into further detail, Kohler said that the car would be based on the 100 electric Smarts currently tested in London but would be equipped with lithium-ion batteries instead of the sodium- nickel-chloride battery currently used.

The test model generation has a 30 kW/41 hp electric engine driven by batteries housed in the underbody. The range is about 115 kilometres. The top speed is listed at 112 km/h. The load time from a normal electric socket is five hours for an 80 per cent charge and eight hours for a 100 per cent capacity.

The lithium-ion batteries have a longer range and require less loading time. (dpa)