While we were still relishing the excellent operation experience of the new EQS's beloved MBUX super-linked screen and its measured endurance performance of more than 800 kilometers around the island in Hainan, when we had not yet recovered from the ultra-low drag coefficient of 0.17Cd and the 100-kilometer energy consumption data of less than 10 kWh released by the vision EQXX concept car world premiere, just last week, VISION The EQXX concept car has completed a long-range challenge from The German town of Sindelfingen to the French town of Cassis in distant Europe.
The | vision EQXX concept car
Yes, you read that right, it was the endurance challenge of "concept car + road + real traffic measurement", and in the end, the VISION EQXX concept car used 11 hours and 32 minutes to drive 1008 kilometers and then had 15% electricity (about 140 kilometers of endurance), creating an excellent result of 8.7 kWh of electricity consumption per 100 kilometers, which was praised by Ola K llenius, chairman of the board of directors of Mercedes-Benz Group AG. The most energy-efficient Mercedes-Benz model ever", as evidenced by Markus Sch fer, a member of the board of directors and chief technology officer of mercedes-Benz Group AG, who is responsible for research and development and procurement, said that energy efficiency is the new "hard currency".
Therefore, ten thousand kilometers away in Beijing, we can only sigh - your uncle or your uncle, Mercedes-Benz or Mercedes-Benz. While some people are still questioning the feasibility of long-distance travel of electric vehicles, Mercedes-Benz R&D teams around the world have proved the long-distance energy efficiency journey of real transportation with solid data.
Perhaps in the eyes of outsiders, in 2022, when BYD has announced the suspension of fuel vehicles, the pace of Mercedes-Benz's electrification road does not seem to be rapid enough, but the discerning people in the automotive circle know that the Mercedes-Benz that accelerates the transformation of "full electric" is by no means just talking, and the way that the Germans who have always been rigorous always like to make it first and never put anti-aircraft guns, such as the new EQS, such as the VISION EQXX concept car.
Also last week, it was very fortunate that under the epidemic, although we could not have face-to-face communication with mercedes-benz German senior management, we talked to Christoph Starzynski, vice president of architecture and electric drive development of large pure electric models of Mercedes-Benz Group AG through online interviews, through which we had a deeper understanding of the future electrification development of Mercedes-Benz.
Keywords: pure electric platform
Christophe Stadzinski said that E-class and S-class products will be products that are being developed on pure electric platforms, including the new EQS that has been launched and the new EQS pure electric SUV that has been launched in the world today, as well as the new EQE and new EQE pure electric SUVs that will be launched in 2022, all of which are based on the exclusive EVA platform for pure electricity.
The | the appearance of the new EQS pure electric SUV
Picture | the interior of the new EQS pure electric SUV
In July 2021, Mercedes-Benz released the "total electric" strategy, which is hailed by the industry as "the most radical, comprehensive and thorough" in history, and the new platforms launched in the future will be electric vehicle-first platforms, such as the upcoming Mercedes-Benz Modular Architecture (MMA) platform designed for compact and mid-size vehicles, which will give priority to electric vehicles, although it still has the production capacity of fuel vehicles.
In 2025, Mercedes-Benz will release three pure electric model architecture platforms: MB.EA pure electric architecture platform will cover all medium and large passenger car products, AMG. EA pure electric architecture platform will become the exclusive platform for performance electric vehicles, VAN. EA's pure electric architecture platform is used for pure electric MPV and light commercial vehicles. As for the question of whether the new platform will replace the EVA platform, Kristof Stadzinski particularly stressed that they will not be particularly different in battery technology, and EVA also uses the same technology, even with MB.EA, AMG. After the three new platforms of EA and VAN.EA, it does not mean that the EVA platform or the new EQS is technically lagging behind, but like these three new platforms, it will still be continuously updated and upgraded according to the latest technology, and the EVA platform will still be the guiding light.
Keywords: EQ product advantages
Last November, I was invited to participate in the EQA product test drive, which triggered my thinking about "how the new forces and traditional luxury brands make electric vehicles differently", when I came to the conclusion that I had different attitudes towards quality, handling, endurance and so on. When talking about the advantages of Mercedes-Benz electric vehicle products compared to competitors, Kristoff Stazinski's words once again confirmed my point.
He first stressed that the long-term control of top quality and the value of "safety first" are the DNA of the Mercedes-Benz brand, whether in pure electric vehicles, fuel vehicles or hybrid models. At the same time, the "all-electric" strategy allows Mercedes-Benz to not need to make any trade-offs for the models produced on the pure electric platform, which can maximize the advantages of the dedicated pure electric platform.
Of course, software capabilities are also what Mercedes-Benz talks about, such as self-developed vehicle operating system is quite strategic and pioneering courage. At the "Innovation and Technology Day" event in Los Angeles in March this year, Mercedes-Benz introduced its independently developed operating system MB.OS, which includes four application functions: infotainment, automatic driving, body and comfort, and driving and charging. Mercedes-Benz defines it as a high-performance, long-lasting, energy-efficient architecture, which continuously understands and recognizes users through artificial intelligence, and adapts them to their habits and preferences, providing personalized services, and the system is expected to be released in 2024. In the future, Mercedes-Benz will promote the MB.OS operating system in its full range of products and gradually enable the platform on models of different generations. In a sense, Mercedes-Benz is leapfrogging from manufacturer to software system developer.
We focus on the ADAS intelligent driving assistance, where Mercedes-Benz also shows a typical German style - working in obscurity, and then accidentally taking the world first. In December 2021, the relevant German regulatory authorities officially released the L3 level conditional automatic driving, and Mercedes-Benz became the first automobile manufacturer in the world to obtain the international certification of the conditional automatic driving (L3 level) system. Also at the Innovation and Technology Day in March, the S-Class sedan equipped with L3 autonomous driving technology and the new EQS equipped with L4 automatic parking technology are already available for media test drives. In terms of pilot electric drive and pilot car software, Mercedes-Benz is constantly creating new benchmarks.
Keyword: localization of electric vehicles
Localization has always been a key topic of media and public attention, and on the localization of Mercedes-Benz electric vehicles, Christopher Stadzinski interpreted it from the two levels of product development and supply chain.
When asked how to balance the standardization of pure electric platforms with the personalization of model designs in various markets around the world, Christophe Stadzinski admitted that electric vehicles are the same as fuel vehicles in terms of products, and there are different configurations for various markets to choose from, such as some configurations are only for the Chinese market, and some configurations are only for the European market, which covers both hardware and software and digital experience. Taking the new EQS as an example, the launch of the MBUX super screen is more considered to the needs of the Chinese market, in China, the new EQS listed models are equipped with MBUX super screen as standard. For users in the Chinese market, Mercedes-Benz pays special attention to the digital experience, rear space and configuration.
At the China Development Forum, which just concluded in March, Kang Linsong said: In 2022, the localization of mercedes-Benz Group has entered the third "decade", and China will continue to be the luxury car market with the most innovative strength and growth potential in the next 10 years. In 2021, the new Mercedes-Benz global R&D center was officially opened in Beijing, where it will focus on the forward-looking trends and technological innovation of industry development, and the R&D experts here will be committed to localizing new energy vehicle products, which is where Mercedes-Benz dares to say "in China, for China".
At the same time, at the supply chain level, Kristov Stadzinski also said that we are focused on building a supply chain "in China, for China". Taking the new EQS as an example, it uses the NCM811 ternary lithium battery provided by CATL and the battery management system independently developed by Mercedes-Benz, and the two work together to bring such excellent battery life and energy consumption performance.
Write at the end
Elephants are turning rapidly, Mercedes-Benz is changing tracks, for the future development of electrification, Mercedes-Benz has obviously been All In, which is the car inventor for the electric wave to give the arms outstretched, forceful embrace posture, but also a century-old traditional Ashkenazi luxury brand has always been the hegemonic momentum and rigorous attitude. The prelude to the Mercedes-Benz electrification drama has just begun, and the excitement is still to come...