According to a report, Mercedes-Benz is scrapping its extended-range EV powertrain after testing a prototype. car the report cited an anonymous source with knowledge of the matter.
Sources told Autocar that Mercedes has built and tested several prototypes based on existing models, “concluding that the range-extended powertrain is a transitional technology that offers similar benefits. short-term relative sales and production costs are relatively high.
One of the prototypes is said to be an EQS with a front-mounted 1.0-liter turbo-2, said to be essentially half the M254 2.0-liter turbo-4 currently used across the range Mercedes. The engine is said to operate purely as a generator, powering an electric motor instead of directly driving the wheels.
Mercedes-Benz EQS 2024
The engine reportedly runs on the Miller cycle to improve performance when operating at the nearly constant speeds a range extender might encounter, as does a front-mounted exhaust system to provide packaging efficiency.
Propulsion is said to be provided by a rear-mounted 268-horsepower electric motor, drawing power from a lithium-ion battery pack roughly half the size of the production EQS pack. Like other range-extended electric vehicles, the battery can be replenished by an internal combustion engine/generator or via a conventional AC or DC charger, according to the report.
Autocar reports that the combined range of both battery power and fossil fuels is estimated by Mercedes to exceed the EQS 450+ model. It’s the longest-range version of the production EQS, currently rated by the EPA at 352 miles.
Mercedes-Benz EQS 580 4Matic 2024
Ram clearly knows some engineering tricks that Mercedes doesn’t. It says it can do this in Ram 1500 REV, while also allowing for the towing capabilities of Ram’s non-electric trucks. But other automakers have had less success with range extenders.
BMW used a range extender with the i3 REx and at the end of its life they basically said the battery had improved enough to push ideas to extinction. One of the few other vehicles that used such a system was Karma Revero—also known as the GS-6 and originally the Fisker Karma.
Mercedes-Benz EQS 580 4Matic 2024
Many years ago Infiniti has envisioned its entire future around hybrids with range extenders and downsized engines, such as this, with additional full electric vehicles that share some components. But in 2021, that plan was scrapped. In that case, the small combustion engine is set to be a 1.5-liter turbo-3 with exceptional sound insulation.
Instead, Mercedes did move to more plug-in hybridswith DC fast charging and larger batteries — but the company hasn’t significantly reduced the motor size on those yet.
