1A range of 000 kilometers: even for diesel or gasoline engines, that would not be a low value. Mercedes-Benz now wants to break this sound barrier with an electric prototype, said head of technology and development Markus Schäfer in a conference call with journalists.
According to the company, it should be the “most efficient Mercedes-Benz of all time”. Schäfer did not exercise modesty and spoke of a car “that breaks all boundaries when it comes to technology”.
“Not for a show stage”
The Stuttgart-based automaker presented the Vision EQXX, the somewhat awkward name of the prototype, on Monday at a “digital world premiere”. The occasion is the electronics trade fair CES in Las Vegas, which takes place this week. However, the group will not be represented on site: Like many other companies, Mercedes canceled its physical participation due to the pandemic.
With the prototype, the group gives a foretaste of future models. Many of the innovations should soon go into series production, said Schäfer. “We’re not doing anything for a show stage, we are doing something that you can see on the street in two to three years.” That should also apply to the battery.
However, when asked by the FAZ, the manager did not want to commit himself to the fact that cars with a range of 1000 kilometers would also go on sale: “You can assume that we will rely on a long range. But I won’t confirm 1000 kilometers yet, ”he said. Long ranges in all weathers are necessary to get customers to switch to electric cars. The charging network will still be full of holes in two or three years, he warned.
Significantly lower consumption
Mercedes wants to demonstrate the enormous range of the prototype, in the development of which the Formula 1 and Formula E teams were involved, on the road in the first half of the year. It will be a real driving program, the range will not be achieved artificially through certain routes or particularly large batteries, said Schäfer, allowing himself a swipe at competitors such as the Chinese start-up Nio, which also has a range of 1000 kilometers indicates. “We will probably be the first to show the range with a small battery,” said Schäfer. This takes up 50 percent less space than the battery of the electric S-Class EQS and is 30 percent lighter.
The fact that the battery still has a longer range is also due to the significantly lower consumption. With the EQS, this value was still around 20 kWh per 100 kilometers, depending on the measurement, the EQXX should now come to less than 10 kWh. For comparison: In an ADAC test published in December, a Hyundai achieved the lowest consumption with 16.3 kWh. “We will probably be the first to achieve single-digit consumption in real operation,” Schäfer has now announced.
Solid-state batteries before 2030
Mercedes is working on a wide variety of battery types and chemical compositions. Mercedes will offer solid batteries well before 2030. “We would be ready to come onto the market with a small series. The next few months will show how fast we are making progress, ”said the Chief Technology Officer.
The EQXX is a common lithium-ion battery that also contains cobalt. “But we will also offer other chemical options,” announced Schäfer, including cobalt-free batteries. These could be cheaper, but also offer a shorter range. Cobalt is a controversial raw material. According to a US government agency, two-thirds of the cobalt mined globally in 2020 came from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In addition to the battery, the vehicle has a number of other innovations. According to Schäfer, Mercedes is experimenting with vegan leather made from mushroom structures, which can be found in the interior. The built-in screen runs straight through the cockpit and, according to Schäfer, is 1.30 meters long and in one piece, i.e. not assembled. The automobile manager goes into raptures about it: “This is absolutely unique,” he says.
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