Cool Concepts: Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX Concept

While some concepts are worthy of inclusion purely for their outlandish styling that showcases a manufacturer’s creative chops, others like the EQXX are worth a mention by virtue of the sheer number of innovative features…

EQXX

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Unveiled at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, this concept played host to a wealth of eco-conscious technologies and features Mercedes was mulling for production viability – from an incredibly efficient electric powertrain, to solar panels, 3D printed body sections, and even an interior featuring recycled plastic drinks bottles, and materials derived from cactus, mushroom and sugarcane.

At the heart of this EV sedan lay an innovative 100 kWh battery pack that utilised energy-dense silicon. This construction not only allowed engineers to make the battery pack very compact (weighing 495 kg and measuring 272 litres in volume – roughly half of an equivalent 100 kWh unit) its contribution to a powertrain with a 7.4 kWh energy consumption rate meant it could cover more than1 000 km on a single charge. Furthering the eco-focused powertrain was the inclusion of a 117-cell solar panel built into the roof that could power ancillaries and could add up to 25 km of driving range on a typical day.

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The novel features weren’t limited to the EQXX’s powertrain, though. The car’s rear floor utilised Mercedes’ largest aluminium structural casting to date. Dubbed BIONEXX, this honeycombed structure employed 42 panels made from a lightweight 3D printed material to fill openings in the floor pan, contributing to a light-by-EV-standards 1 755 kg kerb weight.

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Inside, things became especially concept-car oddball. The concept didn’t use any petroleum or animal-derived materials in its cabin, instead opting for novel sustainable alternatives such as Deserttex; a durable cactus-based material and mycelium mushroom-based vegan leather in lieu of leather upholstery. The door and floor trim was made from a material made from recycled PET drinks bottles that created a shimmering effect in sunlight.

Said recycled PET plastic also formed 38% of the material used to construct the wrap-around mouldings that linked the cabin doors to the headliner. The use of plant-based eco-materials also extended to a sturdy, but lightweight battery pack cover made from a weave of sugarcane processing waste material and carbon fibre, as well as a high-strength vegan silk called AMSilk Biosteel for the door pulls and carpets made from 100% bamboo fibre. While the EQXX may look like a pipe-dreamer’s, well…dream, many of its eco-conscious features are slowly filtering into mainstream products and go to show that some lateral thinking can go a long way towards more sustainable future motoring.

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Find the full feature in the March 2025 issue of CAR Magazine.

The post Cool Concepts: Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX Concept appeared first on CAR Magazine.


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