How Mercedes is Democratizing Long-Range Electric Vehicles

Through the impressive Mercedes Vision EQXX concept, we can glimpse the democratization of long-range electric cars.

Traveling long distances by electric car is no longer insurmountable, but it is still reserved for models of a certain size and price, which still need to be recharged for half an hour every 300 kilometers. While it is easy to cross France in a Peugeot 208, for example, it is still an adventure in the e-208, whose WLTP range caps at 362 km.

But Mercedes has a solution: they took advantage of CES 2022, the international innovation show, to unveil the Vision EQXX concept, foreshadowing long-range electric vehicles of all sizes.

How to achieve 10 kWh/100 km and 1000 km range

The Mercedes Vision EQXX does not aim to showcase the style of a future production model. It is a proof of concept that redefines the energy density and efficiency of electric cars. This concept indeed promises a record-breaking range, under simulated real-world conditions, of 1000 km.

How? By combining innovations and relying on sobriety to solve the chicken-and-egg problem. The EQXX is equipped with a 100 kWh battery, twice as small and 30% lighter than that of a Mercedes EQS, currently the most autonomous electric car on the market (WLTP range of 784 km). Its reduced mass of 1,750 kg, far from the 2,480 kg of an EQS, combined with a record-breaking drag coefficient of 0.18 (compared to 0.20 for the EQS), helps lower consumption to 10 kWh/100 km. That’s twice as efficient as most electric cars, such as the Tesla Model 3 or Hyundai Kona, which consume around 18 kWh/100 km.

It creates a virtuous circle: low consumption allows abandoning water cooling of the battery in favor of passive cooling, with air circulating naturally beneath the car, which reduces the size and weight of the battery. And reducing weight allows for lowering the motor power, thus reducing consumption and further decreasing weight. Here, only one 150 kW (204 hp) motor is used.

The EQXX implements other ingenious ideas, such as an aerodynamic curtain and solid wheels to reduce turbulence around the front wheels or a retractable rear diffuser. It uses fiberglass springs four times lighter and aluminum brake discs instead of steel, saving 13 kg per wheel.

The interior, made from ecological materials, features an 8K 47.5-inch screen (7680 x 660 pixels). With its mini-LED technology with 3,000 backlight zones, it can turn off locally, and its dark interface optimizes electricity consumption where it is lit.

Soon a compact long-range sedan?

The Mercedes Vision EQXX would be a luxurious sedan if produced in series, but what is mainly noteworthy is that its battery is small and light enough to finally conceive a compact car with long range, bridging the gap between small city cars and expensive long-distance vehicles. Mercedes announced that it would transpose the EQXX innovations into series vehicles by 2025.