Against the fear of range: Mercedes-Benz is developing the electric pedant for the one-liter car
Created: 01/04/2022, 5:01 PM
By: Markus Hofstetter
With the Vision EQXX, Mercedes-Benz wants to get rid of the fear of range when it comes to electric cars.
New standards in efficiency, battery and lightweight construction should enable a range of 1000 kilometers.
Stuttgart - The thought makes electric car drivers roll sweat on their foreheads: the battery is almost empty, but there is no charging station nearby.
There are different ways to counter this fear.
For example, a company has developed a kind of power bank for electric cars.
Of course, the charging network can also be expanded so that the distances to the next charging station are shorter.
However, there is a lack of expansion.
The best way to fight range anxiety with electric cars is to increase the range.
Mercedes-Benz wants to go this way.
The brand of the car manufacturer Daimler-Benz presented the Vision EQXX study at the electronics fair CES.
With a full battery, the battery system runs with an operating voltage of 900 volts, the vehicle should be able to travel over 1000 kilometers.
The Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX © Mercedes-Benz AG
Mercedes Vision EQXX: long range through low consumption alone
However, this range is not achieved with an oversized battery.
With a capacity of 100 kWh, this is roughly the same as that of the EQS luxury sedan, which, according to Mercedes-Benz, should travel 780 kilometers.
The basis for the long range of the Vision EQXX is low consumption, which, according to the developers, roughly corresponds to that of a one-liter car with a combustion engine.
The low consumption is achieved, among other things, by a particularly aerodynamic body.
The car, which is around five meters long, has a drag coefficient of 0.17.
This underscores the wind slipperiness of the EQS, the drag coefficient of which is already extremely low at 0.2.
Mercedes Vision EQXX: The efficiency of the electric motor is very high
In addition, the developers have reduced the energy losses of the 150 kW drive between the battery and the wheel, which is designed for a maximum of 140 km / h, to a marginal five percent.
Conversely, this means that the drive has an efficiency of 95 percent.
With a gasoline engine it is around 30 percent, with a diesel engine 40 percent.
According to TÜV Nord, a "normal" electric motor converts around 80 percent of the energy supplied to it into motion.
The Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX © Mercedes-Benz AG
The efficiency of the Vision EQXX is also achieved through its lightweight construction.
The car weighs around 1750 kilograms.
This makes it significantly lighter than the EQS, the 450+ model of which weighs around 2500 kilograms.
The weight has been reduced by a battery that is around 30 percent lighter, which is also 50 percent smaller, and bionically designed structural parts.
Mercedes Vision EQXX: The roof is equipped with a solar field
There are also changes inside.
The EQXX is equipped with an even larger screen than in the EQS.
This stretches across the dashboard in one piece and is fed by a solar field on the roof.
The solar power is not yet fed into the high-voltage system.
The Vision EQXX is initially just a study.
According to Markus Schäfer, it should serve as the technological basis for future model generations.
“This is the blueprint for the future of the electric car,” says the development director.
The show car has not yet seen a street.
The communicated values have so far only been achieved in internal simulations.
The Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX © Mercedes-Benz AG
But soon Mercedes wants to put the test to the test.
The announced Klaus Millerferli, who is responsible for the construction of the single piece.
In spring, the Vision EQXX is supposed to roll at least 1000 kilometers on European highways in real traffic under realistic conditions with one load.
