Mercedes has put its EQXX electric concept saloon to the test in a road trip that saw it travel more than 620 miles in everyday traffic, on a single battery charge.
The vehicle travelled from the Mercedes plant in Sindelfingen, Germany, across the Swiss Alps and Northern Italy, to its destination of Cassis on the Côte d’Azur.
Its journey started in cold and rainy conditions, and was undertaken at regular road speeds, including prolonged fast-lane cruising at up to 87mph on the German autobahn and near the speed limit elsewhere.
The battery’s state of charge on arrival was about 15%, amounting to a remaining range of around 87 miles, and the average consumption was a low of 8.7kWh per 100 kilometers.
This figure was officially validated by having the charging socket sealed and the journey accompanied by an independent expert from certification body TÜV Süd.
Mercedes-Benz says many of the developments in the EQXX are already being integrated into production, some of them in its next generation of modular architecture for compact and midsize vehicles.
It also debuts new battery tech with significantly improved energy density that enables it to store 100kWh, whilst taking up 50% less space and weighing 30% less than batteries with comparable capacity, such as in the EQS.
The EQXX is expected to provide the basis for cars arriving from 2024 onwards.
Ola Källenius, chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, said, “The Vision EQXX is the most efficient Mercedes ever built.
“The technology programme behind it marks a milestone in the development of electric vehicles. It underpins our strategic aim to ‘Lead in Electric’.”
