Mercedes-Benz have demonstrated a bright future for electric vehicles after their new VISION EQXX completed a cross-Europe adventure of more than 1,000km on a single charge.
The journey from the Mercedes plant in the city of Sindelfingen in Germany, through the Swiss Alps and Northern Italy to its final destination of Cassis on the Cote d’Azur, was completed in in everyday road conditions, and started in cold and rainy road conditions.
Unlike many other long distance EV road tests, Mercedes pushed the VISION EQXX at regular road speeds, including fast-lane cruising on the German autobahn at 140km/h. The battery’s state of charge on arrival was around 15 per cent, amounting to a remaining range of around 140 kilometres, and the average consumption was a record-breaking low of 8.7 kWh per 100 kilometres.
“With our successful road trip to the South of France, we’ve shown that efficiency is the new currency. And this success also clearly speaks for our new collaborative development process, incorporating many learnings from the Mercedes-AMG F1 team and its cutting-edge expertise in electric powertrains. The VISION EQXX is the result of a comprehensive programme that provides a blueprint for the future of automotive engineering,” said Markus Schafer, Chief Technology Officer at Mercedes-Benz.
“Many of the innovative developments are already being integrated into production, some of them in the next generation of modular architecture for compact and midsize Mercedes‑Benz vehicles. And the journey continues. With the VISION EQXX, we will keep testing the limits of what’s possible.”
As well as innovative battery design, the groundbreaking journey was helped with low-rolliing resistance tyres developed by Bridgestone and an all-new lightweight construction which provides greatest assistance when travelling up hills, with a decisive power-to-weight ratio.