Mercedes EQS tops Tesla in EV range, for now

With a range of up to 770 km (478 miles) under Europe's WLTP testing regime, the Mercedes-Benz EQS has taken the lead in the electric vehicle battery wars, outpacing the Tesla Model S, which can reach 660 km on the same scale, depending on options.

The EQS's range remains provisional, but if confirmed, it would give Mercedes a key selling point against the Model S, as well as two premium -- although more performance oriented cars -- the Porsche Taycan and its sister model, the Audi e-tron GT (up to 480 km).

It would also eliminate a potential sticking point – range anxiety -- for buyers who will be asked to spend 100,000 euros ($120,000) or more on a luxury electric vehicle, Daimler CEO Ola Kallenius said.

"For electric mobility, convenience is one of those things that has been a buying hurdle," Kallenius told journalists at a round table on Thursday ahead of the EQS launch. "If you have a longer range, and if you can recharge 300 km in 15 minutes, those hurdles start to disappear."

In fact, Kallenius said, a range such as the EQS's could hasten the disappearance of internal combustion engine vehicles such as Mercedes' own S Class. He has set a date of 2039 for Mercedes to have a fully carbon-neutral vehicle fleet. 

"The question is," he continued, "is what will be the ramp-up curve this decade and beyond?"

The EQS may be the range champion now, but competitors are on the horizon.

• Tesla says its coming "Plaid Plus" version of the Model S will have a range of more than 800 km, and Elon Musk has said an electric Roadster model due in 2022 would have a range of nearly 1,000 km. 
• Lucid, a startup founded by a former Tesla executive, has said the coming Air will have a range of more than 800 km.
• Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares on Thursday said that the group's biggest electric vehicles would have a range of at least 800 km in the coming years. 
• A flagship electric car for Audi, Porsche and Bentley, code-named Landjet, is expected to offer a range of 650 km, according to news reports. 
• Lexus's LF-Z concept, which previews a vehicle to be available by 2025, has a range of about 600 km. GM has said it will build a Chevrolet pickup with a range of 644 km. BMW's i4 concept, which is expected to have a similar production version, is claimed to have a range of 600 km.

Kallenius said that Mercedes has prepared for a faster market acceptance of electric vehicles. The EQS is built on the same line as the S Class at Daimler's "Factory 56" in Sindelfingen, Germany. That allows Mercedes to quickly adjust production of either model depending on demand.

"If the market toward truly zero-emission moves faster, we will be there," he said, "and yes, we are looking at scenarios that are more aggressive." 

The EQS achieves its range largely through a combination of aerodynamics and a large battery. Mercedes says it has the lowest drag coefficient of any production vehicle, at 0.20, compared with two other top-performing Mercedes models, the A-Class and S-Class, both with a 0.22 coefficient. 

Wind-cheating touches include a smooth underbody, mostly flush grille area and a steeply raked windshield and wheel spoilers.

The largest battery available on the EQS has an energy content of 108 kilowatt-hours, which is about 26 percent more than on the smaller EQC SUV. A smaller battery, with 90 kWh, is available.