Author: Chang Yan
During this New Year holiday, I was a bit at a loss at home.
On the one hand, it’s because the previously busy pace suddenly slowed down, causing my brain to easily go blank. On the other hand, it’s because in previous years at this time, I would embark on a journey to CES.
Even now in my bookcase at home, I still keep the security badge from CES 2020. Looking back, the novel coronavirus outbreak had already occurred in January 2020, and I still chose to go abroad. Now reflecting on it, I was scared enough, and this has become my last memory of leaving the country.
As a result of CES 2021 being held online, the attention to this annual technology event plummeted. For those car companies who are urgently transitioning to digital technology, this is unacceptable.
Therefore, CES 2022 returns to an offline format. Although we still cannot attend in person, the enthusiasm is still as warm as a freshly-steamed bun, so hot it makes our faces blush.
Look, this big bun is Mercedes-Benz’s VISION EQXX concept car.
In the past, the names of the EQ series were easy to understand. Basically, after removing EQ, you can naturally find the corresponding product in Mercedes-Benz’s gasoline car lineup based on its size and level.
But what does this XX mean?
Markus Schafer explained that “the meaning of the XX suffix for the VISION EQXX concept car is that the first X represents the X-factor, which surpasses conventional thinking about electric travel, and the second X represents X-divisional, which enhances the Mercedes-Benz brand by using agile cross-departmental development methods.”
Hmm… I think it’s easier to understand this car by looking at the tasks that EQXX set for themselves: to showcase Mercedes’ vision of becoming a leader in the industry, in two areas – electric vehicles and automotive software.
If you want lower aerodynamic resistance, you’ll have to ride a penguin
As we all know, the EQS was the production car with the lowest drag coefficient in the world.
The automotive industry has been developing for over a hundred years, and it’s not that there is no ability to lower the drag coefficient even further, but the consequence of doing so is either making the car look odd or losing practicality.
EQXX aims for both low aerodynamic resistance and practicality.
This is a challenge for both technology and aesthetics.
The final result achieved by EQXX is: the drag coefficient is as low as 0.17.
It can be said that the IAA aerodynamic concept car released in 2015 has provided EQXX with sufficient design inspiration. The entire vehicle line flows naturally and dynamically converges at the rear of the car.
The roof is like a “smooth dome of a greenhouse”, helping the entire vehicle to form a drop-like one-piece existence.
The front face area has become smaller, even smaller than the official data of the smart car series. But the combination of the matte black closed grille with rose gold decoration, as well as the handling of the lighting group, still allows us to associate EQXX with the on-sale EQ series.
Each headlight contains two star-shaped elements, with the larger star shape placed behind the center lens for the high and low beam lights. This design echoes the 2D star emblem pattern on the front bumper, which will become an important design language for EQ models in the future.
The tire is also an important part of reducing drag. With the rear track of EQXX 50 millimeters smaller than the front track, the Turanza Eco tires from Bridgestone and 20-inch lightweight forged magnesium alloy wheels are used to reduce resistance as much as possible.
At the rear end, there is also a retractable rear diffuser, which can seamlessly integrate into the body when retracted and work normally when needed.
In terms of drag coefficient, EQXX’s 0.17 is even lower than a rugby ball’s 0.18. If you want to pursue a vehicle with lower drag coefficient, you can consider taming penguins that only have 0.05.
You only need to charge EQXX twice a month
Is the reduction of drag for show?
No, it’s for power saving.
For a pure electric vehicle, two-thirds of the power consumption is basically used to overcome air resistance. EQXX’s new low drag coefficient once again refreshes, just as a preparation for “breaking through technological barriers comprehensively, and raising the level of energy efficiency to a new high.”
To explain to gasoline vehicle users, EQXX’s energy consumption is roughly equivalent to fuel consumption of 1 L/100 km.
To explain to electric vehicle users, EQXX’s energy consumption is below 10 kWh/100 km.
Note that this time, Mercedes-Benz placed the energy consumption data before the range, which is generally considered to be the most critical data for electric vehicles.
In the last two years, the main effort made by luxury brands to improve the range is to increase the battery capacity.
On the one hand, this reflects the inertia of many brands that have just transitioned to electrification in building the three-electric foundations. On the other hand, increasing battery size is like increasing the fuel tank, and soon there will be a two-way barrier of battery size and battery price.
Joerg Bartels, Vice President of Mercedes-Benz Vehicle Engineering and Vehicle Integration, said, “The easiest way to achieve more electric mileage is to place larger batteries in the car. However, size and weight limitations will result in diminishing marginal returns. The introduction of the VISION EQXX concept car shows that we have already overcome this challenge and will improve efficiency to a whole new level. We have found new ways to increase the range of electric vehicles.“
Firstly, improve transmission efficiency.
The EQXX power system with a total output of 150 kW achieves up to 95% of battery energy directly transmitted to the wheels through system design, material selection, lubrication, and thermal management, by research and development from the F1 experts of Mercedes-AMG High-Performance Powertrains Limited.
Secondly, improve battery density.
The volume of EQXX battery is only 50% of EQS, and the weight is only 70%, but the capacity is basically the same.
EQXX battery uses an anode with higher silicon content and advanced components, and the platform jointly developed by Mercedes-Benz Research & Development Department and Mercedes-AMG High-Performance Powertrains Limited creates more space for the battery, further reducing the overall weight, and designing an independent compartment called OneBox for electrical and electronic components. Including OneBox, the total weight of the battery is only 495 kg.
Thirdly, improve thermal management efficiency.
EQXX implements the concept of “on-demand cooling” to ensure that the power drive system composed of power electronic devices, electric motors, and gearboxes maintains the most effective temperature balance at the lowest energy cost through the interaction between air blockers, coolant valves, and water pumps.
The cooling panel is installed on the vehicle underbody, allowing it to utilize the airflow along the bottom of the VISION EQXX concept car for cooling. This can increase the vehicle’s range by about 20 kilometers in the most aerodynamic mode. The cooling system only shifts gears in hot weather or when a “lively” driving style is adopted.
Fourth, more energy from the sun.
There are 117 solar panels on the roof of the car, and the solar energy is stored in a lightweight lithium iron phosphate battery, providing power to climate blowers, lights, entertainment systems, and other auxiliary equipment, although it cannot power the high-voltage system. The system can increase the range by 25 kilometers in ideal conditions for a single day.
Finally, with a 900V architecture and nearly 100 kWh of battery capacity, EQXX can achieve a practical range of 1000 kilometers, charging only twice a month for most Chinese and American users.
You also wanted to know about the casting process.
Thanks to Tesla, the world is now paying attention to the manufacturing of white bodies.
Mercedes-Benz’s response is naturally more advanced materials and manufacturing processes.
The white body of the VISION EQXX concept car is one of Mercedes-Benz’s first engineering projects to use low-carbon flat steel, and for the first time, it uses MS1500 ultra-high-strength martensitic steel, which not only has higher strength and lighter weight but also reduces carbon emissions.
Please note the Mercedes-Benz registered trademark BIONICAST, which produces castings based on natural principles. The shock absorber arch of the EQXX employs this technology, reducing weight by 4 kg.
Due to the use of a larger and more critical one-piece casting in the EQXX, this casting even has its own name, BIONEQXX. It is currently the largest aluminum structural casting made by Mercedes-Benz, located in the rear window portion of the EQXX.
# Mercedes-Benz Adopts Pure Digitalization Technology
Mercedes-Benz adopts pure digitalization technology and applies the unique software methods of the automotive industry to achieve internal independent development. The castings are finally installed into a compact car interior space and achieve the best functional effect. The team spent only four months to create this mass-produced integrated casting. Compared with traditional methods, this engineering method is expected to reduce the weight of parts by 15% to 20%.
The Interior, Large Screen, and Software Take Flight
Since it is a concept car, the interior materials naturally do not need to be too restrained by durability and cost.
The result is that you can see almost all environmentally friendly and novel material combinations in the interior of the EQXX.
Let me list a few keywords for you to explore on your own:
- Fungal and pure plant silk materials
- Biosteel fiber
- Sustainable material MyloTM
- Animal leather alternative Deserttex ®
- 100% bamboo fiber
- Dinamica
- UBQ material
The reason for quickly passing over this section is to remind you that your attention should be on the EQXX’s large screen.
Mercedes-Benz enthusiastically describes the smart cockpit experience of the EQXX:
“The VISION EQXX concept car demonstrates the infinite potential of game engine interfaces, presenting unprecedented image effects and highly adaptive design. When the user interface is opened, real-time images outline a brand-new digital world, bringing the real world into the car and providing instant response to the driver’s needs.”
The carrier of the entire experience is a screen built by Mercedes-Benz that is the first seamless screen with a span of 47.5 inches between two A-pillars, and the hardware quality alone is impressive with 8K (7680×660 pixels) resolution and more than 3,000 hardware-level partition backlights.
EQXX positions UI on the “zero-level interface” 2.0. The intuitive zoom function supports all functions of the in-car systems, and the design goal of the AI autonomous driving assistant is to “hand everything over to the car to handle.”
The energy assistant system can also improve driving efficiency. It can provide the most efficient driving style recommendations based on information such as energy flow, terrain, battery level, and even the direction and intensity of wind and sun.
The voice system is built according to the principle of neural morphology, and its waking speed is 5 to 10 times faster than that of traditional voice control functions.
An interesting feature of the EQXX intelligent cockpit system is that it also considers the impact on energy consumption. By improving the interior surface, it reduces the absorption and reflection of sound waves, reduces the total number of speakers and places them closer to each passenger, greatly shortening the distance of sound transmission.
Such a brand new car both inside and outside took only 18 months to develop, thanks to the advanced software.
“Many of the functions developed in this project have now been applied to mass-produced models. These functions will also be introduced to compact and mid-sized cars based on the Mercedes-Benz modular architecture (MMA) in the future.”
While writing this article, Mercedes-Benz sent a message:
Starting tomorrow! Mercedes-Benz wishes you a happy New Year in 2022. May we (E)very (Q)uickly (X)stride toward the new (X)perience and sprint forward!
Ah, with this, I finally understand what EQXX means.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.