Mercedes-Benz (MBGn.DE) said on Thursday that it intends to manufacture electric cars that use as little as 10 kilowatt hours of energy per 100 km (62 miles), which is a third more efficient than the current average for electric cars.
CTO Markus Schaefer said efficient design was important to optimising an electric car’s range as the company hailed the successful test drive of its EQXX prototype vehicle over more than 1,000 km from Sindelfingen in Germany to the Cote d’Azur on a single charge.
“First, we optimise efficiency, then we can see how many battery modules we put in the car,” Schaefer said at a media roundtable, adding that customers should be able to choose the battery capacity that best suits their needs.
Mercedes-Benz (MBGn.DE), Tesla (TSLA.O), and China’s Nio are all racing to create longer-range automobiles that will alleviate consumer concerns about the lack of ubiquitous charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.
Mercedes debuted its Vision EQXX prototype in January, stating that some of the car’s components would make their way into series vehicles in 2-3 years and boasting a 1,000 km range with a battery half the volume of its flagship EQS model.
The car used 8.7 kilowatt hours of energy per 100 kilometres on its 11-and-a-half-hour journey to France, according to Mercedes-Benz, which is roughly twice as efficient as current Mercedes models and Tesla’s longest-range car, the Model S 60.
According to automobile comparison website carwow, Mercedes’ EQS has the longest range on the market at 768 kilometres, followed by Tesla’s Model S Long Range at 652 kilometres.
“There will be a further climb for a while before a drop,” Schaefer said, declining to say what range Mercedes is seeking in future models.
