The VISION EQXX is part of a far-reaching Mercedes-Benz technology program aimed at breaking through technological barriers and lifting energy efficiency to new heights. It demonstrates the gains that are possible through rethinking the fundamentals from the ground up. This includes advances across all elements of its cutting-edge electric drivetrain as well as the use of lightweight engineering and sustainable materials. Complete with a barrage of intelligent efficiency measures, including advanced software, VISION EQXX allows Mercedes-Benz to explore new frontiers of efficiency.

The VISION EQXX is an exciting, inspirational, yet completely realistic way forward for electric vehicle technology. In addition to its ground-breaking energy efficiency, it offers meaningful answers to pressing issues. For instance, sustainable materials throughout cut the carbon footprint considerably. Its UI/UX features a radical new one-piece display that comes to life with responsive real-time graphics and spans the entire width of the vehicle. For the first time, Mercedes-Benz is using a game engine to elevate the user experience to the next level of digital luxury. Other elements of the UI/UX help the car and driver work together as one, and even use technology (AI ; Artificial Intelligence) that mimics the workings of the human brain. And the software-led development process that delivered it revolutionizes the way electric cars are designed.

VISION EQXX: taking electric range and efficiency to an entirely new level.

Driven by the idea of zero impact on our planet and a highly responsible use of green energy, Mercedes-Benz inspired their engineers to go above and beyond. They are working intensively to take range and efficiency to a whole new level.

By ripping up the automotive engineering rule book, Mercedes-Benz has built a software-driven electric car that re-imagines the road trip for the electric era. 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 maximizing long-distance efficiency. They pulled out all the stops in drivetrain efficiency, energy density, aerodynamics and lightweight design. This research prototype vehicle also has solar panels on the roof powering several functions – and delivering extra range.

The Mercedes-Benz VISION EQXX is how Mercedes-Benz imagines the future of electric cars. With more than 1.000 km* of real-world electric range on a single charge and an outstanding average energy consumption of 8.7 kWh/100 km, the VISION EQXX is a blueprint for the future of efficiency.

*Range figures based on a road trip in real-life traffic conditions at regular road speeds from Sindelfingen across the Swiss Alps and Northern Italy, to its destination of Cassis on the Côte d'Azur.

Sustainable materials in the VISION EQXX – the transfer to series production.

The VISION EQXX makes extensive use of recycled waste materials. Obviously, Mercedes-Benz is transferring the first sustainable materials from the research vehicle into series production. 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.

The basic principle is maximum comfort and style with minimum weight – and no animal-derived products. The interior features innovative materials sourced from start-ups offering new avenues of creativity. For example, door pulls are made from a biodegradable vegan silk and carpets made from bamboo.

The door pulls mark the first use in the automotive sector of biotechnology based on material invented by AMSilk. This high-strength, bio-based and certified-vegan silk-like fabric comes from the inventor of biofabricated (nature-identical) fibre.

Another sustainable material gracing the interior of the VISION EQXX is MyloTM, a verified vegan leather alternative made from mycelium, which is the underground rootlike structure of mushrooms. It is certified bio-based, which means it is made predominantly from renewable ingredients found in nature. This completely new material category created by the power of biotechnology is designed to be less harmful to the environment and is used for details of the seat cushions in the VISION EQXX.

The animal-free leather alternative called Deserttex® is a sustainable cactus-based biomaterial made from pulverised cactus fibres combined with a sustainable bio-based polyurethane matrix. In this combination, the leather alternative has an exceptionally supple finish that is extremely soft to the touch. Forthcoming versions have a higher cactus content, giving this material the potential to halve the ecological footprint associated with conventional artificial leathers.

On the floor, the carpets in the VISION EQXX are made from 100% bamboo fibre. In addition to being fast-growing and renewable, this natural raw material offers an extremely luxurious look and feel. Mercedes-Benz chose these sustainable, innovative, high-performance materials because they, and others like them, have the potential to replace all sorts of petroleum- and animal-based products currently used in automotive applications. Together, they show a way forward for luxury design that conserves resources and is in balance with nature.

Elsewhere, the VISION EQXX makes extensive use of recycled waste materials, such as the recycled PET bottles used in a shimmering textile to enhance the floor area and door trim. Higher up in the interior, the designers used DINAMICA® made from 38% recycled PET to create a wrap-around effect linking the upper edge of the one-piece screen with the doors and headliner. The interior also features UBQ material, a sustainable plastic substitute made from household and municipal landfill waste.