Andrew Heinzman
Mercedes-Benz is one of the most successful automakers in the EV and autonomous car market, and its EQS Sedan has an impressive 350-mile EPA range that almost matches the Tesla Model S. But come January 3rd, Mercedes could set a new standard for EVs with its Vision EQXX concept vehicle.
We first heard about the Vision EQXX back in June, when Mercedes-Benz execs shared photos of the vehicle and bragged about its jaw-dropping 620-mile range. That’s nearly twice the range of the Tesla Model S, and much more “fuel-efficient” than the latest combustion engine sedans, which travel about 400 miles on a tank if you’re lucky. (Older gas cars are even less efficient, of course.)
We’re not entirely sure how Mercedes eked a 620-mile range out of this prototype, but it may have something to do with the new “cutting-edge” electric drive train and use of lightweight materials. Mercedes claims that it re-imagined the engineering process for the Vision EQXX concept, so there may be a host of small changes that helped it reach this efficiency. (Mercedes is interested in advanced battery technology, so this concept car could use a super dense battery to increase its range. But I have a feeling that engineering is the key here.)
Interestingly, Mercedes calls the Vision EQXX a “software-defined research prototype.” The car may pack some advanced assistive driving features that we’ve never seen before, and these features could find their way to other Mercedes vehicles in the future.
We know enough about the Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX to say it’s an amazing prototype. But we still aren’t sure why the car is so efficient, or what kind of assistive driving technology it contains. For those questions, we’ll have to wait until Mercedes reveals the Vision EQXX on January 3rd, 12PM ET.
Source: Mercedes-Benz
