Lightweight Mercedes Benz Sets World Record for EV Travel on a Single Charge

A common concern about EVs (electric vehicles) is how far the car will travel on a single charge. Mercedes Benz put that concern to the test in a recent drive in its new Vision EQXX concept car.

Implementing a combination of lightweight materials, aerodynamic design features and tires, and innovative battery technology, the EQXX set a world record for EV travel on a single charge, completing a 12-hour non-stop journey of 1,000 kms (621 miles) from Germany to Switzerland to Italy and arriving in France with 140 km of range still available in the battery pack.

To design the chassis of the EQXX, engineers borrowed from Formula 1 (F1) with a dedicated lightweight subframe. The impressive drag coefficient of just 0.17 adds to the range of the EQXX as two-thirds of the electric energy is needed to counter the air resistance. The electric drive was developed with the help of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team. A sustainable carbon fiber-sugar composite material, also used in F1, was used for the upper part of the EQXX’s battery. Compared to the battery in the Mercedes-Benz EQS, the EQXX battery has 50 percent less volume and is 30 percent lighter. The EQXX also features solar panels on the roof. In this journey, the power from the solar panels contributed to a two percent increase in range.

“We did it! Powering through more than 1,000 kms in real world driving with ease on a single battery charge,” said Ola Källenius, chairman of the board of management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG. “The Vision EQXX is the most efficient Mercedes ever built. The technology program behind it marks a milestone in the development of electric vehicles.”

Mercedes-Benz upcoming MMA electric platform will implement batteries similar to the battery in the EQXX. Markus Schäfer, chief technology officer of Mercedes, added, “Stay tuned. In the near future you will see something which is – from a design standpoint – very very close to this vehicle.”