RIYADH: German luxury vehicles company Mercedes’ electric vehicle breaks the 1,000-kilometer (621 miles) range barrier on a single charge to beat US rival Tesla, Bloomberg reported.
Also referred to as the EQXX, the prototype completed a trip from Germany to France with a battery half the size of the car manufacturer’s EQS flagship electric vehicle.
Despite driving at a speed of 87 miles per hour, the vehicle had up to 15 percent charge left upon arrival to the destination.
“The technology program behind it marks a milestone in the development of electric vehicles,” CEO Ola Kallenius said in a statement.
The luxury automaker is planning on investing as much as 60 billion euros ($65 billion) through 2026 in an attempt to compete and get ahead of competitor Tesla.
The company has set a goal to sell only EVs by 2030 while setting up eight battery factories with partners.
This comes after the carmaker was criticized for years for being behind in terms of electric vehicle adoption.
The car’s battery uses a new chemistry developed with the help of Formula One experts from its Powertrains division in the UK. The company plans to deploy the cells in Mercedes compact cars from 2024.
