Currently reading: Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX: 620-mile EV to arrive on 3 January
Futuristic concept will be capable of more than six miles per kWh and more aerodynamic than EQS

Mercedes-Benz has unveiled the landmark Vision EQXX concept car - read all the details here.

Described as "the most efficient vehicle the brand has ever built", the EQXX has been previewed as a futuristic and heavily streamlined design study that could offer heavy clues as to what to expect from future production cars. 

Mercedes is targeting a real-world range of more than 620 miles, and a consumption rating of more than six miles per kWh. Previously, it suggested the 'compact-class' EQXX would have the "longest electric range" and "highest efficiency" of any EV yet produced.

The headline claim made of the prototype at a strategy conference last year was that it will be capable of travelling from Beijing to Shanghai - a distance of 750 miles - on a single charge. Mercedes is keen to emphasise that the range has not been achieved simply by using a larger battery pack, and that the unit used in the EQXX will appear in a "future compact model". 

The EQXX development team includes "experts from Mercedes-Benz’s F1 High Performance Powertrain division (HPP)", hinting at the concept's top-rung performance potential. 

Eqxx

Confirming the reveal date last month, CEO Markus Schäfer said: "We at Mercedes-Benz – as well as the entire automotive industry – must completely reimagine the car in the context of electromobility. The automobile as we have come to know it till now has been the product of 130 years of continuous development. What we have achieved so far has been amazing, but progress with electric cars must move faster – much faster."

He added that it is "more than a show car", hinting at the production applications of the technology and features it will showcase. The cell density of its battery pack, for example, is increased 20% over that of the EQS, and it is set to improve upon that car's once-record-breaking drag coefficient of 0.20Cd. 

Mercedes recently made a number of headline announcements regarding its accelerated transition to electrification. From 2022, it will offer a fully electric model in every segment, and from 2025 every model sold will be offered with a pure-electric model. Also in 2025, Mercedes will launch three bespoke new EV architectures for use across its entire product portfolio: MB.EA for mid-sized and large passenger cars, AMG.EA for performance models and Van.EA for commercial vehicles.

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Among the headline announcements was a commitment to building eight new battery factories worldwide – of which four will be in Europe – and that investment in combustion engines will fall by 80% by 2026, compared to 2019 levels. 

Felix Page

Felix Page
Title: News and features editor

Felix is Autocar's news editor, responsible for leading the brand's agenda-shaping coverage across all facets of the global automotive industry - both in print and online.

He has interviewed the most powerful and widely respected people in motoring, covered the reveals and launches of today's most important cars, and broken some of the biggest automotive stories of the last few years. 

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coolboy 29 November 2021

Yasa tech inside.

Hey Musk! Keep this were it hurts, p-gay.

Bob Cat Brian 22 July 2021

@phewitt

it seems to be a pattern that all BEVs are launched way before they're on sale, cynically I wonder if it's to keep people buying their ICE models just that little bit longer; the EQS (for example) gets customers into the showroom rather than buying a Tesla or Taycan, then the salesman says 'that's not available for another 12 months, due to Covid/brexit/chip shortage (anything other than it's not actually ready yet), so why not get a new S Class this one last time, before going for the EQS next time...' 

Phewitt21 22 July 2021

Range is the key question for fleet users,  I'm intrigued if this car makes production in 2022, MB it seems is struggling to get the EQS up and running and it might well appear in customers hands in 2022 and not this year as hoped..

dealers can't give any info in the car because the factory won't share production or specifications

 

i hope the EQXX is something special to move the bar upwards