Stuttgart-based luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz has revealed its plan to switch to fully electric cars by the end of this decade.
To kick-start the transition, the company will unveil the 620-mile (1,000-kilometre) EQXX concept car next year.
Mercedes aims to deliver high performance even as it transitions into a field that is largely unknown to it, such as electric cars, especially with some countries preparing to ban the sale of fossil fuel cars entirely in the near future, so Mercedes realizes that the time to switch to electrification is now. The company spares no effort in its attempt to occupy a high position in the electric vehicle sector.
The company plans to start its ambitious journey with a futuristic car with high range achieved by making the most efficient car, and did not build this car by increasing the size of the battery as other companies do, instead the company says it has simplified aerodynamics along with developing a high-powered powertrain Performance (HPP) to provide a range of up to 6 miles (10 kilometers) per kilowatt-hour at normal highway speeds.
To develop the next generation of motors, the company acquired Oxford-based YASA, which develops high-performance, high-efficiency electric motors using axial flow technology.
The company is also working on improving the energy density of its batteries by using silicon-carbon compounds in the anode, which will provide them with a higher range, as well as reduce charging times.
The company also planned to build 8 huge factories that will produce 200 gigawatts of battery capacity that the company will need because it is fully electric.
And with the largest network of charging stations, which includes more than 530 thousand AC and DC chargers;
Mercedes is also collaborating with Shell to take advantage of its freight network in Europe, China and North America, and provide the infrastructure for a network of modern chargers that rely entirely on technology for freight operations.
The German company is investing more than 40 billion euros ($47 billion) in this transformation until the end of the decade. AMG.EA will be available on high-performance cars, while pickup trucks will be available in the EA van.
In terms of switching to clean and sustainable production, the company's production facilities are set to become carbon neutral by 2022, while it plans to start operations at its battery recycling plant in Copenheim by 2023.