Mercedes-Benz decided to prove to everyone that its all-electric EQXX Concept gets more than a thousand kilometers (621 miles) of driving range from a single battery charge and sent it on a journey from Sindelfingen, Germany to Cote d’Azur, France.
The carmaker calls it “the longest no-charging trip since the beginning of the electric mobility era.” The car covered over a thousand kilometers across Germany, Swiss, northern Italy and France. The driver spent over 12 hours on the road and only made a couple of 15-minute stops.
The EQXX had to maneuver through narrow, winding streets and accelerate up to 140 km/h (87 mph) on autobahns. It also experienced altitude changes and had to move through several different weather fronts. Mercedes emphasizes that the car was driven naturally all the time, with no special power conservation measures taken at any time.
The Sindelfingen Technical Center observed the trip remotely and was able to assist on one occasion when the EQXX had a minor breakdown. An independent TÜV expert was present in the car itself, and the charging port was sealed to prevent tampering.
When the EV finally arrived in Cassis, France, the remaining charge meter on the dashboard indicated that it still had around 140 km (87 miles) worth of battery juice left. The company claimed that the concept car made use of special, innovative batteries, took advantage of regenerative braking, and had solar panels to top up the charge. The latter only added around 25 km (15.5 miles) of range, though.