Mercedes has unveiled the prototype for an electric vehicle that it claims is able to travel over 1,000 km (621 miles) on a single charge in the latest push against 'range anxiety' and an attempt to convince drivers that charging infrastructure is not a barrier to purchasing battery-powered vehicles.
Vision EQXX. Credit: Mercedes
The Vision EQXX. Credit: Mercedes
The 1,000 km range eclipses the industry average of 300 km and was calculated using digital simulations of real-life traffic conditions.
The German automaker said that a roadworthy version of the prototype - the Vision EQXX - will be shown to the public this coming spring and will be able to cover nearly twice the distance of a fully charged Tesla Model S.
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"The Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX is how we imagine the future of electric cars," said Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kaellenius.
Daimler will test-drive the prototype before the middle of the year on various types of terrain, said Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Markus Schaefer.
Some components of the prototype would be available in Mercedes-Benz vehicles within two to three years, Schaefer said. However, he declined to specify when the 1,000 km-range battery would be market-ready.
"We will likely be the first to show a 1,000 km-range car in real life, with such a small battery," Schaefer said.
When such a vehicle would go on sale is a "market decision" to be determined once the carmaker had established how much range customers expected and what they would be willing to pay, he said.
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The prototype, built within 18 months, "puts an end to range anxiety," Mercedes-Benz said, referring to one of the key obstacles for why EVs have not been in higher demand.
This required developing a new battery pack, which the company says would fit into a compact vehicle and whose energy density - measuring how much power batteries can hold compared to their size - stands at close to 400 watt hours per litre.
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