The wait is almost over as Mercedes has announced plans to introduce the 2022 EQS on April 15th. The highly anticipated electric vehicle will usher in a new era for Mercedes and should pose a serious threat to the Tesla Model S.
Mercedes is still keeping details under
wraps, but they confirmed battery production is now underway at their
Stuttgart-Hedelfingen plant in Germany. The facility has a production and
logistics area that spans approximately 177,605 square feet (16,500 square
meters), and batteries are built on a production line that is roughly 984 feet
(300 meters) long and includes more than 70 individual production stations.
The EQS will be offered with a variety of
battery packs to meet various performance and range requirements. The biggest
will have a capacity of 108 kWh and this will allow for a range in excess of
700 km in the WLTP cycle. Mercedes also noted the EQS’ energy
management system will be capable of receiving over-the-air updates, while the
batteries themselves will have “CO2-neutrally produced cells” as well as a
chemistry that reduces the need for cobalt.
While production is just getting underway
in Stuttgart-Hedelfingen, Mercedes is already looking ahead as a new factory
for small-series production of future lithium-ion battery cells is being
planned. It’s slated to open in 2023 and continue pushing battery technology
forward. As we have previously reported, Mercedes has an assortment of electric
vehicles on the horizon. In the next two
years, the EQ family will expand to include more than than ten electric
vehicles including the upcoming EQE as well as crossover versions of the EQS
and EQE.
