The author | Liu Wei, editor of Mizuki Gong|
Just today, the Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV came.
The new car positioning pure electric SUV, based on the Mercedes-Benz EVA2.0 platform, is the flagship SUV model in the current EQ family, and may also be the most expensive Mercedes-Benz pure electric SUV you can buy at present, and is expected to cost more than 1 million yuan.
The new EQS SUV carries a family-style exterior design, simplifying the appearance and making the front face star emblem logo more eye-catching. At the same time, various sensors that support driver assistance systems, such as ultrasound, cameras, radar or the upcoming lidar in the future, will be integrated here.
From the side, the new car lines are smooth and do not lack a sense of power. For aerodynamic reasons, the exterior mirrors are placed above the waistline, while the welcome pedal optimizes aerodynamics, giving the vehicle lower wind resistance and more power.
At the same time, as an SUV, the product design of the new car is indeed reasonable enough: including the provision of a third row of options, as well as the entertainment screen in the rear, all of which increase the practicality of the vehicle.
Inside, the new car continues the interior style of EQS and is also equipped with MBUX super screen. In addition to the large screen, this generation of mind-reading voice assistants has more powerful conversational and learning capabilities.
For example, the driver's intentions are predicted by cameras and learning algorithms: further interpret the hand, head movements and body language to make corresponding feedback in advance.
But it's worth complaining that this flagship SUV looks really alike in some places with his big brother EQS. Why? Look down at the diagram and you will understand.
These include similar mesh details, identical through-the-air taillights, and a continuation of the interior layout and design style of EQS.
But then again, what happened to mercedes-Benz's pure electrification process? Is this car also "lazy" in Mercedes-Benz?
As we all know, even such a strong "big coffee" as Mercedes-Benz did not eat the sweetness in the early new energy market, but was defeated by its own oil to electricity EQC.
Although with the lessons of EQC, Beijing Benz still continues to launch domestic EQA, EQB and other models, but unfortunately sales are still dismal.
Mercedes-Benz pure electric sales in the past six months▲
In the direction of pure electric vehicle development, there are two strategies, one strategy is oil to electricity, that is, on the basis of the existing fuel vehicle chassis, replace the engine and fuel tank with electric motors and batteries; the other strategy is to develop a pure electric platform from scratch.
The first strategy saves time and effort, but there will be many places that do not adapt to electrification technology, can not play the advantages of pure electricity, and naturally will not be recognized by users;
The second strategy, the initial investment is large, but the pure tailor-made electric vehicle platform has more advantages in space and performance, and the transformation brought about by electrification can be vividly reflected.
EQS SUV road running ▲
As the first mass-produced model based on the pure electric EVA platform, the emergence of EQS finally allowed Mercedes-Benz pure electricity to officially take off the hat of oil to electricity, and finally helped Mercedes-Benz to pull back a city.
EQS ▲
The new EQS SUV is also from the EVA platform. That's why the exterior and interior are so similar.
In fact, in addition to the EQS (S-class pure electric) and EQESUV (GLE pure electric) that have been unveiled so far, there are two other models such as EQE (E-class pure electric) and EQS SUV (GLS pure electric).
Mercedes-Benz's EVA platform can support both rear-drive and four-wheel drive layouts, with a rear-drive layout carrying an electric motor with a maximum power of up to 408 horsepower, while the four-wheel drive layout uses dual motors, in which a motor will be added to the front axle to produce a maximum power of 122 horsepower to 204 horsepower.
EQS SUV road running ▲
In addition, the platform supports systems such as adaptive suspension, torque vectoring control, and kinetic energy recovery, and features a rear-wheel steering system with a standard steering angle of 4.5 degrees and can be upgraded to 10 degrees via OTA.
EQS ▲ that supports rear wheel steering
The EVA platform is for medium and large vehicles, Mercedes-Benz will launch the MMA platform around 2024, and this new pure electric platform is responsible for creating medium-sized cars and compact cars.
So what does this MMA platform do?
Mercedes-Benz's MMA platform will be designed for electric vehicle development, and according to Mercedes-Benz CHIEF Operating Officer Markus Schafer, the new Mercedes-Benz C-class pure electric will use the electronic architecture of the MMA platform.
At the same time, chejun also learned that the electric vehicle developed based on the MMA platform will learn from the Vision EQXX concept car.
The EQXX concept car mentioned here does have some intriguing black technology, and then listen to the car Jun and chat with everyone.
The EQXX, which took 18 months to build, uses Mercedes-Benz's BEAMICAST technology, that is, the front suspension tower top, the front steering column bracket adopts die-casting process, and the cast aluminum tower top brings 4kg of weight reduction.
There is also an even more extreme weight reduction is the carbon fiber rear subframe. The former may also be lost in mid-level cars, and the latter is estimated to be seen only on models of the AMG.EA architecture.
As a traditional car manufacturer, Mercedes-Benz's solid chassis kung fu is absolutely handy. From the chassis of EQXX, it can be found that perhaps the completion of Mercedes-Benz's new platform is already very high.
On the VISON EQXX concept car, we can already see the advanced computing technology behind the UI user interface - that is, the algorithm that simulates the human brain for neuromorphic calculations.
Akida's Neuromorphic System-on-Chip, a collaboration with California's leading artificial intelligence company BrainChip, brings an unprecedented smart cockpit to Mercedes-Benz.
In the future, the car machine system will not have any buttons, and will make more and more active predictions and judgments on the information and functions required by the owner, while filtering out the information that the owner does not need or interferes with it.
The 8K integrated display in the car can accurately predict and provide the information required by the owner at a specific time, such as time display, GPS positioning, driving status, etc., as well as timely push ordering, shopping and in-car system functions.
Although the large display is not necessarily energy-producing, a new car-machine system will appear in every Mercedes-Benz car in the future.
The EQXX's battery pack has nearly 100 kWh of energy, but it is 50% smaller in size and 30% lighter than the new EQS's battery pack.
Moreover, the silicon content in the battery anode material is very high, and in the process of cell encapsulation, a high-density design scheme derived from The Mercedes-Benz F1 racing car is adopted.
To support a higher level of integration package, a more advanced and innovative cooling system is also used, and such a cooling system takes up less space than traditional battery systems. In addition, there are inverters using silicon carbide materials.
A few days ago, Mercedes-Benz officially released a set of EQXX endurance data, the car in Europe completed more than a thousand kilometers of mileage test, and there is a certain amount of remaining endurance.
On the test route, the official chose to start from Sindelfingen, Germany, through Switzerland and Italy, and finally to Cassis, France, a total of 1008 kilometers, with a total time of 11 hours and 32 minutes.
Among them, the average speed of the new car is 87.4 km / h, the maximum speed is 140 km / h, and the power consumption of 100 km is only 8.7 degrees.
What is more exaggerated is that after arriving at the destination, there is still 15% of the electricity left, and the cruising range of 140 kilometers. It is worth mentioning that the roof of the EQXX is also equipped with 117 solar cells, adding a total of 25 kilometers of cruising range to this test.
In addition, the wind resistance coefficient as low as 0.17 and the front face area of 2.12 square meters are important parameters for this car to help this car achieve ultra-high endurance.
Although EQXX has not yet reached the mass production stage, it is indeed enough to look forward to from the perspective of energy consumption performance.
Whether you accept it or not, the electric trend is in full swing. Even luxury brands are still not immune to being robbed of the market by new forces.
MMA platform schematic▲
So how to maintain their own brand tone, while at the same time correctly grasping the changes in the new energy market, naturally has become the most important thing for car companies to think about at present.
After losing the gearbox and engine, Mercedes-Benz does not have such a strong moat, and the global sales of Mercedes-Benz pure electricity in the first quarter were 21,900 vehicles, which is the best proof.
Mercedes-Benz pure electric sales in the past six months▲
Therefore, for Mercedes-Benz, it is necessary to continue to accelerate the research and development of new platforms and continue to launch new products with care.