VISION EQXX.

In April 2022, Mercedes-Benz demonstrated the real-world capabilities of this visionary vehicle with a long-distance drive on open roads. Further trips, each with a range of more than 1,000 kilometres, followed in June 2022 and March 2024.

With more than 620 miles¹ (1,000 km) of real-world electric range on a single charge and energy consumption of less than 10 kWh/100 km, the VISION EQXX is a blueprint for the future of efficiency. Beyond the exceptional achievements of its highly advanced drivetrain, world-beating drag coefficient of 0.17 and lightweight bionic design, the VISION EQXX is also a masterclass in a radically new software-driven approach to the UI/UX. A game engine elevates the UI graphics to a whole new level of digital luxury. The user interface shows how real-time graphics opens up entirely new digital possibilities, reacting immediately to the driver’s needs and bringing the real world into the vehicle. This human machine merge creates a true partnership between car and driver. This increasingly seamless relationship is further facilitated with intuitive interaction via the highly efficient yet visually striking one-piece display. Meanwhile, through machine learning, a more characterful, emotional voice for “Hey Mercedes” places the conversation between driver and car on a whole new and more natural level.

The innovations emerging from the technology programme that produced the VISION EQXX serve as a blueprint for digital and sustainable luxury in future Mercedes-Benz products. Just a few months after the world premiere of the VISION EQXX, Mercedes-Benz is transferring the first sustainable materials from the research vehicle into series production. In pilot programmes, both the EQS and EQE will be equipped with cable ducting made from UBQTM, a bioplastic made from mixed household waste that is usually difficult to recycle and often ends up in landfill.

The VISION EQXX offers a roadmap for tangible luxury through sustainable materials. Others include animal-free leather alternatives derived from cactus and the root-like structure of mushrooms. The VISION EQXX also offers tangible luxury through sustainability that is not part of the customer interface, with recycled and low-CO2 materials in structural components as well as a bionic-engineering approach that minimises weight and conserves resources.

By ripping up the automotive engineering rule book, Mercedes-Benz has built a software-driven electric car. At the same time, it presents a highly progressive interpretation of the fundamental Mercedes-Benz principles of modern luxury and Sensual Purity. Rather than simply increasing the size of the battery, the cross-functional, international team focused on maximising long-distance efficiency. They pulled out all the stops in drivetrain efficiency, energy density, aerodynamics and lightweight design.

¹Range figures preliminary and based on digital simulations in real-life traffic conditions. The VISION EQXX has not undergone type approval or homologation

This article was last updated in March 2024.