The radical-looking Mercedes-Benz EQXX gives us a preview of what the German carmaker is planning for the future.

Mercedes-Benz EQXX Concept is said to be able to travel 1000 km on a single charge, which should satisfy the range-anxious. The secrets behind its phenomenal range is not a giant battery pack, but rather some impressive aerodynamics and weight saving.

The Germans could have always loaded a giant battery pack into the car, but this would increase the weight dramatically, and heaviness is a common factor associated with every non-ICE vehicle. The BMW iX for example weighs 2.3 tons. The Mercedes-Benz EQXX Concept tips the scales at 1 750 kg, which is deeply impressive for a big electric vehicle.

The 900-volt battery pack was developed in conjunction with Mercedes-Benz’s F1 team and has the same power rating of 100 kW, which is identical to the current EQS. Clever packaging and engineering have resulted in this pack being physically smaller by 50% and 30% lighter.

The roof features solar cells which add 25 km to the overall range, trick low-rolling-resistance tyres and an incredible aerodynamics drag coefficient rating of 0.17.

The engine is a single 150 kW motor that drives the rear wheels. It’s not going to be the fastest thing around, but pace was not Merc’s target here.

The cabin looks like something out of a futuristic movie, with an 8K screen stretching across the entire dashboard. The interior is assembled from sustainable materials, with the seats being made from cactus plants and some of the trim comes from mycelium mushroom vegan leather. The plastics used in the non-structural parts of the cabin are made from recycled plastic.

The Mercedes-Benz EQXX is a concept for now, but expect to see some of the technology from this vehicle make its way into future products from the German carmaker.

Mercedes-Benz South Africa will be launching an array of EQ electric vehicles in 2022.

Further Reading

Electric cars coming to SA