Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX EV Showcased In India At Safe Roads India Summit 2022

The summit shed light on the role of sustainable technologies in the overall objective of increased road safety for all

Even with increased focus on vehicle safety and occupant protection, India remains one of the top countries in the world with regard to fatalities from road accidents. Luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz has a keen interest in doing its part to help improve road safety in India, thus launching the ‘Safe Roads’ campaign to promote road safety awareness, especially among children.

It hosted the third Safe Roads summit at the Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India (MBRDI) offices in Bengaluru with a special focus on the role of sustainability-oriented vehicles in the future. As such, it also showcased the Vision EQXX, an electric prototype that uses some of the newest technologies being developed by Mercedes-Benz for future EVs.

Indian Road Safety: Areas Of Concern

According to the data presented by Mercedes-Benz at the summit, India reported over 1.5 lakh road fatalities in 2022 so far. More than 60 per cent of these facilities come from only five percent of the highways in the country and excessive speeding accounts for 56 per cent of the fatal accidents. 

Some of the data suggests incident-prone hotspots with high volumes of traffic that could benefit from both increased awareness as well as potential modifications to the infrastructure to reduce the frequency of incidents.

While experts understand that the final responsibility of road safety lies with the person at the wheel, data suggests many occupants still don’t take the bare minimum safety precautions like using their seat belts. 

In 2020, more than 15,000 people were killed due to non-usage of seat belts. Even with the rules in place, it seems many road users still ignore these safety mandates, likely due to a lack of awareness on the subject.

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Vision EQXX - Sustainability And Safety

The Vision EQXX’s primary focus is optimal energy usage with a specialised powertrain capable of achieving 95 per cent energy efficiency. It also has an extremely aero-efficient design for a coefficient of drag (Cd) of 0.17. 

Mercedes also took extreme measures with regard to weight savings to keep the overall package as compact and light as possible. On top of these parameters was the mission to increase the use of sustainable materials without compromising on overall safety.

As such, the Vision EQXX takes inspiration from nature by focusing primarily on load-bearing structures and avoiding use of unnecessary materials without function. A prime example of this is the unique one-part BIONEQXX casting for the rear floor. 

The web-like structure of the floor served its load-bearing purpose but for covering the gaps to protect the inside of the Vision EQXX, Mercedes used patches of sustainable plastic substitute made from recycled trash. 

Furthemore, the body-in-white build of the EV prototype uses MS1500 ultra-high-strength martensitic steel, and the doors are made from a hybrid of carbon-fibre and glass-fibre reinforced plastics. 

Impressive Figures Of The Vision EQXX

There exists one road-worthy version of the Vision EQXX in the world and it has already proved its efficiency in the real world. Mercedes-Benz has taken two road trips with it covering well over 1,000km on a single charge. The EQXX has been able to achieve an efficiency of less than 10kWh per 100km which is near equivalent of an internal combustion car being able to cover 100km on 1 litre of fuel.

Its highly efficient, F1-derived powertrain still offers a sufficient punch with 204PS on offer. However, it’s the innovation in battery technology that makes a big impact allowing for nearly 100kWh of energy to be stored in a compact frame thanks to higher density. 

Under The Skin Of The Mercedes EQS

While the Vision EQXX will eventually spawn a production model, the current flagship EV from Mercedes-Benz is the EQS. It was recently launched in India as well, in both CBU and locally-assembled forms. 

The EQS earned a five-star safety rating in the Euro NCAP thanks to its long list of safety features and build quality. At the Safe Roads summit, Mercedes-Benz also showcased a ‘body-in-white’ cross section of the EQS, showcasing the car’s various safety aspects.

The EQS’ shell uses a variety of materials such as cast aluminium, high-strength steel and even hot-formed ultra-high-strength steel. The strongest materials are concentrated in areas that would have to bear the most stress in the event of an accident, for an efficient use of resources. The flagship luxury EV also uses structural techniques for its safe design such as extruded aluminium parts near the floor to improve the protection for the battery pack housed under the passenger’s floor.

Vision ZERO 2050

In line with the goals set by the United Nations, Mercedes-Benz announced its commitment to achieving accident-free driving globally by 2050. 

Prof. Dr. Paul Dick, Head of Vehicle Safety, Mercedes-Benz AG said, “Mercedes-Benz is the pioneer in vehicle safety. ‘SAFE ROADS’ is a commendable initiative that underlines all aspects of road safety comprehensively and will go a long way in making Indian roads safer. To reinforce our commitment to make roads safer, globally, we announced our commitment to the vision of accident-free driving by 2050. This is our holistic and data driven approach to protect all road users with both active and passive safety systems, and we are committed to making this a reality.”

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