Mercedes-Benz has won an award in Germany for being the first to employ a lithium-ion battery in a series-production hybrid. The battery has been available since June in the S 400 Hybrid.

More proof that ‘green' sells at the top end of the market. The S400 Hybrid uses the same battery technology as your mobile phone does to achieve 7.9 litres per 100 kilometres and the lowest CO2 in the class - 186 grams per kilometre. Hybrids will all have to move to lithium-ion batteries in the next generation because they boost energy density by 30 per cent compared with nickel-metal-hydride batteries.