Stuttgart, Jan. 9 (BUS): Mercedes-Benz said it aims to take range anxiety off the minds of electric car drivers with its new Vision EQXX concept that is said to run an estimated 1,000 kilometers between charges.
Although sales of electric vehicles are rapidly rising around the world, many current and potential owners are still concerned about their vehicles running out of power when there is no charging station nearby.
While the Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX will never go into production, ideas in the concept should go into developing a highly efficient electric powertrain that would enable electric vehicles to move further away from the charging station than ever before, according to the news agency. German. (dpa).
From January 5-8, the Vision EQXX is the highlight of the world’s first digital display being shown from the German manufacturer’s booth at CES 2022 in Las Vegas.
To come up with the range of cars, the Stuttgart automaker hired expertise from its Formula One division to install a highly efficient, compact electric power train housed within a lightweight battery housing.
The Vision EQXX’s new electric power plant can be used in a compact car as well, Mercedes says, describing the innovation as the electric equivalent of a very economical “1 liter” vehicle that uses a liter of combustible fuel to cover 100 km.
“The technology program behind the Vision EQXX will define and enable future Mercedes-Benz models and features,” said Board Member and Technology Expert Markus Schaefer.
“We are challenging current development processes with creativity and out-of-the-box thinking. This really is the way forward,” said the CEO.
In normal long-distance driving, a typical electric vehicle uses roughly two-thirds of its battery capacity to make its way through the air in front of it, which is why the Vision EQXX has a super-smooth, slippery drag coefficient of 0.178—better than the EQS saloon.
The powertrain has a 95 percent efficiency rating achieved by optimizing the batteries and increasing the power density by 200 W/kg. Packing the same 100 kWh capacity as some of its competitors, the EQXX’s battery pack is 50 percent smaller and 30 percent lighter.
The car uses 117 solar panels to draw power for many of its onboard accessories, low-pull tires to reduce rolling resistance and a range of sustainable materials inside.
It features a blend of mushroom, bamboo, aloe and vegetable silk fibres on the interior surfaces, with the message that the ultimate in luxury can still be achieved in cars without the use of animal products.
The EQXX has so far only hit record range during in-house simulators, but the Triple Stars plans to conduct extensive road testing soon to put the concept in its stride.
HF