In a remarkable achievement, Autocar India and Mercedes-Benz India recently set a Guinness World Record for the longest distance covered by a production electric vehicle on a single charge.
The record was achieved in a Mercedes EQS 580 which covered 949 km from Bengaluru to Navi Mumbai without recharging.
This broke the previous world record of 916.74 km, set in the United Kingdom in a Ford Mustang Mach E.
According to an Autocar report, The Mercedes-Benz EQS 580 was chosen for this record-breaking attempt because it has the highest claimed range of any EV in the market and is the most aerodynamically efficient car in India, with a drag coefficient of just 0.20, further boosting its range capabilities.
The EQS boasts a 107.8kWh battery and provides an ARAI-claimed driving range of 857km on a single charge. However, the distance of 949 km covered exceeds the certified range by up to 10%.
To maximise range, the highway speed was maintained between 50-60 kmph. In addition, they also relied largely on the EQS' three levels of regenerative braking, limiting using the friction brakes only in case of emergency situations. This allowed them to squeeze out every last kilometre available from the battery to achieve the Guinness world record.
Autocar India’s Rahul Kakar, who was behind the wheel to break the record, said “I’ve hyper-miled in a lot of vehicles before, both internal combustion and EVs, but this was my first time hyper-miling a luxury EV. It’s by far the most challenging test I have undertaken, as in the past I never chased to break an existing record. A lot of factors made it all the more challenging, including heavy rainfall, traffic, broken roads and worst of all, getting a flat tyre. With a target to achieve, I made continuous calculations of the remaining range of the EQS with each percentage drop in the battery. In retrospect though, all the effort and stress was well worth claiming a Guinness World Records title.”
Mercedes-Benz EQS 580 4MATIC comes at a whopping price of Rs 1.62 crore.
The DNA app is now available for download on the Google Play Store. Please download the app and share your feedback with us.
