Mercedes Cars To Feature Tech From Vision EQXX Concept in ‘2 to 3 Years’

Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius says many of the concept’s features are closer to production than we might expect.

byStef Schrader|
Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX
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The Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX is one of the most fascinating concept cars to come out in recent years. It's a fully drivable, hyper-efficient, luxe electric sedan with a graceful longtail design that rivals that of a vintage Porsche 917LH. Our own Jerry Perez marveled at how production-ready it felt when he got some seat time in it this summer, and turns out, much of it may be close to production. Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius confirmed that we'll be seeing a lot of the EQXX's tech roll out to road cars soon. 

"Many of the technologies from the EQXX you will see in next-gen Mercedes in the next two to three years," Källenius said during an industry roundtable, attended by The Drive. "We're on the verge of the next step of efficiency and efficiency is really the new currency when it comes to an electric vehicle."

He's not wrong—nearly every EV advertised today emphasizes its range figures up-front, as one primary way to ease range anxiety is by offering as much range as possible. The Vision EQXX is, first and foremost, an efficiency study, with a 747-mile max distance that puts even the Lucid Air's record-holding 520-mile range to shame. It's the most efficient Merc ever built, and while there's only one of them so far, it's been the company's test bed for new ways to make modern models positively miserly when it comes to energy consumption. 

Källenius did not specify which tech from the Vision EQXX is closest to making it into a production car. He was responding to a question about how Mercedes plans to improve range while reducing cost, though, and shouted out the Vision EQXX as a test bed for efficient methods. 

"[A]bout two years ago...[they built the Vision EQXX] to maximize the aerodynamic efficiency, the rolling resistance, all those things that you can do in the car, all the electrical use, the thermal management—everything worked with the next-gen battery chemistry, more energy dense," Källenius said. "The way the whole battery management is done with fewer losses. The next-gen drivetrain has improved efficiency." 

So, while there's plenty of neat stuff that we'd love to see more of, from the EQXX's ultra-light plastic springs to its cactus-based vegan leather, expect to see some of the other tweaks in use around efficiency to make it into a production electric Merc's drivetrain first. While I don't expect to see the EQXX's stunning longtail grafted onto the upcoming electric G-Wagen, it's not a stretch to feel as if we'll see more of the EQXX's lighter-weight air-cooled battery tech and its clever use of lighter, stronger materials. 

Mercedes-Benz

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