What the Mercedes EQXX 1200km Range Actually Means for EVs

Electric car manufacturers seem to have spent the past decade worrying about completely the wrong things, and tackling problems in totally the wrong way. Mercedes have proved this doesn’t need to be the case, but just focussing on the prototype EQXX achieving 1200km on a single charge is missing the point of what this car signifies.

To get around the range anxiety issue that plagues all but the most stoic of EV Drivers, bigger and bigger batteries have been fitted to cars to extend the range to a more usable, and ICE-comparable distances. This has some negative impacts on the vehicles sporting these massive batteries, primarily adding weight, and secondary restricting packaging freedom.

The 100kWh battery in the EQXX isn’t a game-changer in itself. There are cars aplenty on the market offering similar or larger batteries (Tesla have offered 100kWh batteries for a long time now) but none get close to the range offered by the engineers from Stuttgart.

By focusing on efficiency, rather than just chasing ever larger (and heavier!) batteries, Mercedes have changed the game.

The important thing to remember is no-one needs 1200km of range from any car. That’s not how they are used. We use cars for doing maybe 300km in a stint before needing refreshment or a toilet break. But proving 1200km is possible in car weighing a sniff under 1800kg means you can realistically fit a battery half the size and get 600km from a car weighing 1500kg. This is where Mercedes’ technical exercise gets really interesting.

Halving the battery size reduces the vehicle weight, it reduces the packaging constraints, it reduces the charging time, and all the while having no meaningful impact on the ability to use that car. And if you do happen to reduce the efficiency slightly by adding back in the omitted heated seats and perhaps the solar panel in the roof wouldn’t make it through QA, you still end up with a usable range in a car comfortably under 2tons, with all the luxury and refinement you’d expect from the marque.

The EQXX isn’t destined for production. But the principles the engineers have applied and the ethos that has been adopted will very quickly make it through to the showroom. This isn’t innovative; its just sensible. Something that isn’t always prevalent when manufacturers chase battery size and 0 – 60mph times. It something that will directly impact the mass of the car, thereby opening up opportunities for some dynamicism from the EV market other than off-the-line performance.

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