Mercedes-Benz tests future electric platform in contrasting climate zones

The AMG.EA platform – short for AMG Electric Architecture – is designed for future performance models from Mercedes-AMG. The first vehicles based on it are due to roll off the production line at the Sindelfingen plant in Germany at the end of 2024. It is currently undergoing an “intensive testing program, putting individual components as well as the system as a whole through their pace,” according to Mercedes-Benz.

The manufacturer is currently trialling the Mercedes-AMG electric platform in northern Sweden. It is one of the first stages, as “AMG.EA is still at the beginning of a demanding and comprehensive test plan, which will span multiple proving grounds, continents and climate zones,” it says. Details of the platform are not yet known. In the current announcement, Mercedes-Benz only states that the future architecture will take on a pioneering technological role in many aspects and bring numerous innovations to the road. For example, “the AMG.EA drive concept is based on axial-flux motor technology, which offers an unparalleled mix of power density, size, and weight.” and: “The innovative power unit operates in conjunction with a new high-performance high-voltage battery.”

Meanwhile, Mercedes’ Vision EQXX technology carrier was recently tested under contrasting temperature conditions. The model completed its third long-distance drive of more than 1,000 kilometres. “On a challenging route profile encompassing busy city streets and open desert, the pioneering test vehicle delivered electric power consumption of 7.4 kWh/100km,” the manufacturer reports.

Mercedes-Benz presented the Vision EQXX for the first time at CES 2022. The concept is not a concrete preview of a production model – but is, nevertheless, intended to provide a glimpse of a whole range of technologies that can make production vehicles more economical. During an initial demonstration drive around four months after its unveiling, the technology carrier covered 1,008 kilometres on one battery charge in real road traffic – including a crossing of the Alps and less-than-ideal external conditions. The maiden voyage led from Sindelfingen via the Swiss Alps and northern Italy to Cassis on the Côte d’Azur. In the end, the average consumption was 8.7 kWh per 100 kilometres.

Two months later, the Vision EQXX surpassed this mark on a second long-distance journey with slightly higher temperatures and a flatter route profile. The technology demonstrator drove 1,202 kilometres from Stuttgart to Silverstone in the UK on one battery charge – also at motorway speed. At the time, Mercedes-Benz put the consumption at 8.3 kWh per 100 kilometres.

media.mercedes-benz.com (AMG.EA winter test), media.mercedes-benz.com (EQXX)