Mercedes Benz, Analysis of the Road to Electrification

The fierce competition in today's Chinese car market far exceeds anyone's imagination. The magnitude of the changes was also unexpected for the inventors of automobiles. From a purely temporal perspective, Mercedes Benz's actions are not slow. On the contrary, it is definitely considered positive among traditional car companies, especially luxury brands. Eight years ago in 2016, Mercedes Benz came up with the Generation EQ concept car, which was the first time that Germans used EQ as a new generation of new energy products.

Let's sort out the German plans at that time

In October 2020, a turning point occurred as the sales performance of EQC was not ideal. Mercedes Benz announced an increase in new energy research and development, while downplaying the MEA platform and introducing two new architectures, EVA and MMA.

German people have formed the habit of gradual renewal in the era of fuel vehicles, and the cost advantage of the same platform of fuel and electricity has been educated by the pure electric platform of Chinese car enterprises.

Mercedes Benz revised its plan during this process and came up with new targeted solutions. One example is that the MMA platform will give birth to more entry-level and medium-sized pure electric vehicles, which will quickly appear in the public eye next year.

The all-new Mercedes Benz Modular Architecture (MMA) platform will give birth to four models: one four door coupe, one hunting coupe, and two SUVs. The first product is CLA, which is at the entry-level level but supports technologies such as 800V supercharging system, permanent magnet synchronous motor, SIC power electronics, and two speed gearbox.

The most relevant product to domestic users is undoubtedly the one developed by AMG, now named AMG EA architecture. The first prototype of the Mercedes AMG high-performance SUV has begun cold weather testing, which will be based on the all electric AMG The second model manufactured by EA architecture.

It is also worth mentioning that in this latest SUV project, the Mercedes AMG department has designed the entire car architecture for the first time. It will be the second model built on the all electric AMG.EA high-performance platform. In addition to high-performance products, another one named VAN was also announced this time EA's new platform, as its name suggests, is aimed at VANs, which are MPVs used for cargo or multi person travel.

The van has always been an important part of Mercedes Benz's product line, and Germans are also continuously promoting the transformation of new energy. The new modular platform in the future will help further reduce research and development and manufacturing costs through sales.

At present, the platform's base plate is planned to be divided into three modular parts. The front cabin of all models has a unified structure, while the middle part adjusts its length according to different models and positioning, which also means that there are differences in the capacity of the battery pack. The installation or non installation of motors in the rear cabin depends on whether the vehicle model has drive requirements.

For commercial vehicles, the data also mentions universality. They hope that the product can meet all the needs of express delivery, fast delivery, and parcel delivery (CEP) vehicles to ambulances, as well as municipal trucks or flatbed trucks to lift platforms or recreational vehicles (RV). The Germans are very clear about the product positioning, or the core needs of users, so the focus of publicity is on the selection of customers who pay attention to functionality, accessibility, payload and cargo space.

In addition, according to the exposed information, the "EA" platform also includes products designed for high-end private car needs, specifically VAN EA-P。 On the one hand, it is a luxurious design that has been elevated to a new height, and on the other hand, it is planned to have a range far exceeding 500km, especially to meet the needs of high-speed long-distance driving outside of cities.

The information also emphasizes the plan for the driving assistance system, which means that VAN.EA-P will reach SAE Level 2 during mass production and is planned to reach SAE Level 3 by the end of this century. On the one hand, this reflects the German's consistent conservatism, on the other hand, it is also the actual situation of high-end private cars, most of which have professional drivers, and lack of demand for driving aids.

Compared with private cars, Germans prefer to use automatic driving technology to empower trucks. During mass production, not only will SAE Level 2 related technology be provided, but it is also planned to achieve SAE Level 4 autonomous driving within 10 years to unleash the commercial potential of autonomous driving technology.

Note: The data and images cited in the article are sourced from the internet