A luxurious electric car made with plant-based materials
With their Vision EQXX, Mercedes-Benz claims to have developed an electric car that has a range of 1,000 kilometres on a single battery charge, and has a luxurious interior made of vegan, plant-based materials.
The car has, according to Mercedes-Benz, a consumption of less than 10 kWh of energy per 100 kilometres. This is, in part, because of the aerodynamics of the exterior design, witha drag coefficient of just 0.17. In comparison, the previous most efficient electric car was the Tesla model 3, which uses 14 kWh per 100 kilometres.
To add to the range, the car has ultra thin solar panels in the roof, which allow the car to drive up to 25 kilometres solely on solar energy.
The car is donned with rose-gold magnesium rims, but the most interesting materials are used on the inside. Usually, cars that want to appear luxurious opt for animal based leathers in the interior. However, animal leather has a large carbon footprint. To counter this, but keep the luxurious appearance, Mercedes-Benz opted for using cactus– and mycelium (mushroom roots) based leathers. In addition they also used vegan silk and floor mats made of bamboo fibres. The plastic is made of recycled PET bottles.
The Vision EQXX was presented in early January, but is not for sale yet. Instead, it is a proof-of-concept of technology the company will use in future models.
Photos: Mercedes-Benz