A Mercedes EV has driven more than 1,000 kilometers from Germany to the French Riviera on a single charge, taking the battle to take the tech limelight from Tesla to new heights.
An electric Mercedes-Benz AG car has driven more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) from Germany to the French Riviera on a single charge, bringing the battle to the tech spotlight from Tesla Inc. to a new level.
On Thursday, the automaker said the Mercedes EQXX prototype ran from Sindelfingen near Stuttgart through Switzerland and Italy to the Mediterranean seaside town of Cassis. The sedan’s lightweight chassis and aerodynamic profile allow it to complete the trip with a battery pack that’s half the size of Mercedes’ flagship EQS electric car.
The EQXX “is the most efficient Mercedes ever built,” CEO Ola Kallenius said in a statement. “The technology program behind it marks an important milestone in the development of electric vehicles.”
Mercedes plans to spend 60 billion euros ($65 billion) through 2026 to fight Tesla and reclaim the title of world’s best-selling luxury carmaker from rival BMW AG. The company aims to only sell electric vehicles if possible by the end of the decade and plans to set up eight battery factories with partners.
After years of criticism for its slow adoption of electric cars, last year the German automaker stepped up its game with the launch of the EQS, which boasts a class-leading driving range. in the industry. Mercedes is ramping up its transformation push this year with the all-electric EQE sedan and EQB sport utility vehicle. However, when it comes to EV shipments, Tesla still leads.
Racing technology
With the EQXX, Mercedes is trying to show it can be the best of the American company in terms of electric technology. The prototype made the trip as fast as 87 miles per hour and had 15% of the charge remaining on arrival. The vehicle’s battery features new chemistry developed with the help of Formula One experts from the Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrain division in the UK. The plan is to deploy the cells in Mercedes’ compact cars from 2024.
Mercedes has cut the EQXX development time from 18 months to about 40 months by relying on simulation and digital design tools rather than physical tests and part manufacturing. Mercedes’ chief development officer, Markus Schaefer, says modern cars need a shorter sales period so they don’t look outdated when they arrive in showrooms.
“We needed to keep up with what was going on in terms of software and technology, and it’s a rapidly changing industry,” Schaefer said in an interview. “We needed to be fast in our development, much faster than we were in the past.”
