One of the biggest races in technology innovation is all-electric vehicles with many car manufacturers working to boast an EV with a long mileage range and it seems that Mercedes-Benz is leading the race. At CES 2022 Mercedes-Benz revealed their latest automotive innovation of the all-electric Vision EQXX luxury vehicle with a 648-mile range with a single charge.
Though the new model is considered a concept, it’s also being considered competition breaking the record for most miles on a single charge compared to Lucid with 520 miles and Tesla with 402 miles. These stats give the Vision EQXX nearly three times father per kilowatt-hour than a Tesla Model S Long Range and the model shape is also more aerodynamic for a sleek, minimalistic style. The EQXX concept is powered by 117 solar panels on the roof that is advertised to add up to 15 miles of range for long-distance trips depending on ideal weather conditions in a single day.
Mercedes-Benz is also incorporating more eco-friendly features with solar power along with sustainable and recycled materials like ground-up cacti, mushroom fibers, and trashed food scraps. The leather interior is made from sustainable root-like mushroom structures sourced from underground and the carpets are made of bamboo fibers.
Another massive interior upgrade is a massive47.5 -inch touchscreen that spans across the entire dashboard with an AI program providing drivers with suggestions while cruising down the road like best directions or upcoming road advisories. Mercedes partnered with NAVIS Automotive Systems developing ‘the first real-time 3-D navigation system for a touch screen of this size with seamless zoom and scroll functions from satellite view down to a height of 10 meters in a 3D city representation.’
The exterior also incorporates sustainable materials with a material sourced from landfill waste known as UBQ. Israel developed the durable UBQ material made from a combination of commonly wasted materials like cardboard, gardening waste, mixed plastics, and even diapers.
Mercedes-Benz contributes its success to the compact design and efficient battery while being dubbed the most-efficient model ever built by the luxury car manufacturer with energy consumption of fewer than six miles per kilowatt-hours (kWh). The Chief Technology Officer(CTO) Markus Schaefer disclosed test drives with the prototype are planned for the middle of 2022 on various types of terrain. Though the Vision EQXX has promising features the car has yet to hit the road and Mercedes-Benz is basing the car range on computer simulated testing while the car manufacturer plans on real roads by this spring.
