VISION EQXX: Mercedes-Benz's New EV Can Go Over 1,000 Kilometres On A Single Charge; What About Competitors?

Mercedes-Benz has finally taken the wraps off the new VISION EQXX concept and revealed major information. The company said that VISION EQXX is the outcome of a quest that Mercedes has set for itself to break through technological limits and raise energy efficiency to new heights across the board.

It has been a major concern among the potential electric vehicle (EV) buyers that if there are not enough charging stations what is the point of purchasing such a vehicle which according to many experts is the future of the automobile industry.

But as per the German luxury vehicle company, the vehicle can go over 1,000 kilometres on a single charge, attempting to persuade clients that a lack of charging infrastructure does not have to be a deterrent to purchasing a battery-powered vehicle.

Ola Kallenius, chairman of the board of management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG said in a statement: “The Mercedes-Benz VISION EQXX is how we imagine the future of electric cars. Just one-and-a-half years ago, we started this project leading to the most efficient Mercedes-Benz ever built — with an outstanding energy consumption of less than 10 kWh per 100 kilometres. It has a range of more than 1,000 kilometres on a single charge using a battery that would fit even into a compact vehicle.”

“The VISION EQXX is an advanced car in so many dimensions — and it even looks stunning and futuristic. With that, it underlines where our entire company is headed: We will build the world’s most desirable electric cars,” he added.

Internal digital simulations of real-life traffic circumstances were used to calculate the range, which greatly exceeded the industry norm of roughly 300km. Moreover, a road-legal version of the VISION EQXX is expected to be capable of reaching nearly twice the distance of a fully charged Tesla Model S, according to the German manufacturer.

So what about other vehicles and how far can electric cars go on a single charge? Even though it depends on several factors, but mostly it is about the driving style. If someone drives EV fast then they will get fewer kilometres compared to careful drivers, who would be able to squeeze more kilometres out of their EVs.

However, here are some approximate ranges for Mercedes competitors:

• Renault Zoe - 394km

However, in the case of other features of VISION EQXX, its "toolbox," which was created in collaboration with Mercedes' 8-time constructor champion Formula One and Formula E teams, will be utilised in a compact vehicle akin to the A-Class, according to the automaker.

The car, “designed for the road trip to electromobility”, will be available in 2024 or 2025, but it will most likely lack the prototype's full range. Instead, the EQXX's battery density and solar panels will be used to create a more efficient and lightweight vehicle.

“All the elements that we see in this car will make it into series production. Probably we don’t need all this range in a compact car, but now we can downsize the battery, we can have even a much smaller battery than we see here in the EQXX . . . this means lower costs in the vehicle,” said Markus Schafer, Mercedes’ chief technology officer.

Mercedes isn't the first company to claim to have broken the 1,000-kilometre barrier. GAC Group of China debuted the Aion LX Plus in November last year and claimed the same, and announced that will be launched in China on 6 January 2022. But Mercedes said that its technological advancements will underlie a variety of small and medium electric vehicles in the future years and that the accomplishment demonstrated the strength of its supercar engineering division.

However, Mercedes-Benz introduced the EQS that can drive more than 650 kilometres on a single charge, last year. According to the automobile giant, the battery pack in the VISION EQXX is 50 per cent smaller and 30 per cent lighter than that in the EQS.