Mercedes drives ‘around the world in 8 days’ in its GT XX, breaking EV records
Mercedes took its GT XX concept out to the Nardo high-speed test track in Southern Italy and came back with a slew of records for electric distance driving – including one for driving a distance equal to the circumference of the world.
Mercedes announced a new, 1,360hp 4-door EV concept, the GT XX, back in June.
The concept uses two axial flux motors and a 114kWh battery, with a top speed of 223mph or 359 km/h. And it’s capable of charging at 850kW – and that’s continuous draw, not peak draw. That means it can add around 400km/250 miles of WLTP range in 5 minutes.
So, with that high top speed and that incredibly quick charging rate, what’s a manufacturer to do, other than set some records?
The Nardo test track in Southern Italy is used by many manufacturers for high-speed testing. It’s known for its long, banked circular test track which allows cars to maintain extremely high speeds for long periods.
This is the track where speed and distance records are often set, and Mercedes set out to do the same with its concept.
Over the last 7 days, 13 hours, 23 minutes and 7.10 seconds, Mercedes ran the car, day and night, to see how it does at high speeds and without a break at all. And in doing so it set EV distance and endurance records set recently by other brands like XPeng and Xiaomi, and even by Mercedes’ own CLA (and, reaching even further back, an old one set by Tesla Youtuber Bjorn Nyland… without manufacturer support and on public roads).
Mercedes’ new record smashed the most recent 24 hour record, which stood at 3,961km (2,461mi) by the XPeng P7. The GT XX, with manufacturer support, fast charging and the right test track, managed to drive 5,479km (3,405mi) in the same 24 hour period, nearly 1,000 miles further than the previous record.
But Mercedes didn’t just go for 24 hours – that 7 days number mentioned above is how long it took the GT XX to drive a distance equal to the full circumference of the Earth, which is 40,075km (24,901mi) at the equator. In total, Mercedes did 3,177 laps of the 12.5km/7.8-mile track. Mercedes was looking to finish the trip in less than eight days, as a tribute to Jules Verne’s “Around the World in Eighty Days.”
It was helped in doing so by the incredibly quick charging rate the car is capable of, along with a fast charger that is capable of delivering that amount of electricity. 850kW is a lot more than any consumer vehicle or fast charger can currently deliver (usually 250-350kW max in US/EU), and is probably more than is practical or necessary for consumer cars. It’s even faster than the 600kW mid-race charging for Formula E. And it shows that the limits many think electric vehicles have are really not there in reality.
But in fact… Mercedes used two cars for this test, and both of them completed the same grueling test. Each of them finished with a similar distance traveled, only a 25km difference between them.
For the test, Mercedes engineers calculated that the optimal trade-off between energy efficiency and fast charging would be to drive the car consistently at 300km/h (186mph) around the track until it needed a charge, with the car driving an average of around 5,300km (3,293mi) per day.
Mercedes didn’t release any statistics on how much charging was done and how much energy was consumed, but it was certainly far more than the average consumption that you would see in normal driving, as is the case for any high speed track applications. There was certainly a lot of energy going in and out of that battery, and through those motors, over the course of those 8 days, and yet the cars seem to have handled it just fine.
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Yet another big name in auto is pulling back on its EV plans, blaming slower than expected demand for electric vehicles.
Porsche drops in-house EV battery plans
Volkswagen’s luxury sports car brand, Porsche, announced this week that it no longer plans to build EV batteries in-house.
Cellforce, Porsche’s high-performance EV battery company, will shrink and only focus on research and development, rather than production.
In a statement, Porsche blamed “the slower ramp-up” of EVs and “challenging market conditions” in its biggest markets, the US and China, for the changes.
CEO Oliver Blume, confirmed the news, saying “For volume reasons and a lack of economies of scale, Porsche is no longer pursuing its own production of battery cells.” The staff reductions, will be handled in “a socially responsible matter,” Porsche said. Volkswagen’s battery unit, PowerCo, will take on several former employees.
Porsche plans to continue to continue offering internal combustion engine (ICE), hybrid, and all-electric options across every segment “well into the 2030s.”
Following the Taycan and Macan Electric, Porsche is still planning to launch the all-electric Cayenne and 718 models. The German automaker promises future models will still “bring trend-setting technologies in electromobility into series production.”
A separate report from German magazine WirtschaftsWoche claimed on Wednesday that Porsche is on the hunt for a new CEO to replace Oliver Blume.
German automaker Opel drops EV commitment plans
Porsche isn’t the only German automaker adjusting EV plans. Opel is one of the many brands under the Stellantis Group, alongside Jeep, Ram, Peugeot, Citroën, Fiat, and several others.
Although it was one of the many automakers to commit to offering an all-electric lineup, it’s now backing off its promise.
During Stellantis’ EV Day in 2021, Opel announced its intention to transition to all-electric vehicles by 2028, accompanied by a slate of new models. Former CEO Michael Lohscheller, now chief executive at Polestar, said, “As of 2028, Opel will only offer electric cars in our core market Europe.”
On Monday, the German auto giant abandoned its plans for an all-EV lineup, saying it will continue to focus on its current “multi-energy” strategy.
Opel is the first German auto brand to offer a fully electrified model for every vehicle in its lineup, including electric (EVs), plug-in (PHEVs), and even internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.
In response to media reports claiming it has changed its strategy, the company said in a statement, “This does not have to be limited to 2028 if the demand side requires otherwise.”
Although the company will continue to focus on EVs in specific regions, like the UK, France, and Germany, it will also offer other powertrain options based on demand.
Opel, alongside British sister company Vauxhall, is one of the top-selling brands in Europe. In Germany and the UK, Opel and Vauxhall ranked first in the ever-expanding B-hatch segment through the first half of the year.
The German auto giant becomes the latest brand to scale back EV plans or shift to hybrids, following Volvo, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, BMW, and others.
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As it gears up to unleash an “avalanche” of new EVs, a top Kia official is warning against changing policies. Not only would it be a setback for the industry, but it would also cost the company a fortune.
Kia is warning against changing policies for EVs
Unlike some automakers (looking at you, Mercedes-Benz), Kia believes it’s best for Europe to stick to its plan to ban the sale of new cars with internal combustion engines (ICE) by 2035.
“We have an avalanche of electric cars coming,” Kia’s top executive in Europe, Marc Hedrich, said (via Automotive News). Kia’s European boss warned that if the company were to suddenly stop launching EVs, “it would cost us a Fortune.”
Hedrich’s comments come as pressure builds from other automakers, especially in Germany, to reverse the ban on new ICE cars.
Meanwhile, just a week ago, Kia’s first European-made electric vehicle, the EV4, rolled off the assembly line. The EV4 is Kia’s first electric hatchback. Unlike the sedan model, which is made in South Korea, the hatch variant is assembled at Kia’s Zilina plant in Slovakia.
Kia invested over 100 million euros ($125 million) to upgrade the facility for EV production. Next year, Kia will begin building the EV2, its new entry-level electric car that will sit below the EV3.
Hedrich’s warning is a stark contrast to Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kallenius, who criticized the EU’s policy earlier this month.
Kallenius said that the policy would handicap European brands, which are already struggling to compete with Chinese automakers. Instead, he is calling for tax incentives and cheaper power prices to support the transition to EVs.
When asked about Kallenius’ comments, Hedrich took a slight jap, saying, “That is the same guy who a few years ago promised his company would only sell EVs in Europe by 2030.”
EU President Ursula von der Leyen is set to meet with several top European automotive executives to devise a plan to ensure the sector remains competitive.
Kia does not support a delay, Hedrich made clear, with several EVs set to arrive over the next few months. After launching the EV3 and EV9 in 2024, Kia opened orders for the EV4 (hatchback and sedan variants) earlier this year. The company’s EV5 SUV is set to launch later this year, followed by the smaller EV2. Both the EV2 and EV4 will be assembled in Slovakia to expedite deliveries.
Electrek’s Take
The EV3 is already the best-selling electric vehicle among retail buyers in the UK and sixth in Europe through the first half of the year.
With the EV4 and EV5 joining the lineup this year, followed by the EV2 in 2026, why would Kia support going backwards? And that’s not to mention Kia’s new PBV electric van business, which kicked off with the PV5 this year.
Even investing in new plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) technology at this point seems a little late to the party.
As Hedrich put it, “PHEVs are definitely a transition technology which is highly dependent on local government rules.” Since the rules vary by region, “it’s extremely difficult to build a business case” around them, he added.
Kia’s European boss believes the EU’s ban on ICE vehicles could help German automakers. However, more competitive models are needed to boost demand, he predicted.
Do you agree with Kia? Chinese brands like BYD are quickly winning over market share with lower-cost, often more advanced EVs. And European automakers are almost entirely dependent on Korean or Chinese battery makers. If automakers continue delaying the inevitable transition to EVs, they will only fall further behind in the global market.
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Environment
Tesla self-driving is still not working in Vegas’s single lane tunnels, but Elon says 50% of US this year
Tesla has reportedly begun testing self-driving features in the Boring Company’s single-lane tunnels in Las Vegas, but it is still “ways off,” according to the Las Vegas Convention Center, which owns the tunnels.
Yet, Elon Musk believes Tesla’s self-driving will cover half of the US population by the end of the year.
The Boring Company, a startup founded by Elon Musk, aims to construct single-lane tunnels beneath cities in an effort to alleviate traffic congestion.
In 2021, it began operating its first Loop, ~1.7 miles (2.7 km) of tunnels underneath the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), with Tesla vehicles ferrying passengers between three stations around the convention center.
LVCC was the first to trust the Boring Company to deploy its ‘Loop’ and the service has been underwhelming so far, but The Boring Company did expand the network a bit in Las Vegas, connecting the LVCC Loop to a few hotels with new tunnels.
Elon Musk stated that the ultimate goal was for self-driving Tesla vehicles to transport people through these tunnels at high speeds.
Many people noted that a controlled environment with single-lane tunnels, devoid of other vehicles or pedestrians, would be the easiest environment to deploy self-driving technology. However, four years after launching the LVCC Loop, The Boring Company is still using Tesla vehicles with human chauffeurs.
Steve Hill, CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), confirmed to Fortune that The Boring Company started testing Tesla’s autonomous driving in the Vegas Loop, but he believes it is still “ways off”.
He shared some details about the testing so far:
Thus far, all of the initial testing has been done with the standard Full Self-Driving (FSD) software that consumers can get in their personal Tesla vehicles, and with a Boring Company safety operator in the driver’s seat, according to Hill, who awarded the Boring Company its first transportation contract and who has overseen all of Boring’s initial construction and tunneling in the broader County thus far. Hill said that Boring Company is operating the vehicles, but was unsure of Tesla’s exact role in the testing apart from furnishing the vehicles and the self-driving software. There have been no scrapes or accidents thus far, though safety drivers have “periodically” had to intervene and take control of the vehicles, Hill said.
Nonetheless, Hill believes that the loop will eventually become autonomous, but he is unsure when this will happen.
While they are still working on making self-driving work in those single-lane tunnels, CEO Elon Musk said that Tesla’s Robotaxi service will cover half of the US population by the end of the year.
Electrek’s Take
As I previously stated, there’s no way that Tesla could cover half of the US population with an actual Robotaxi service by the end of the year.
But the fact that it doesn’t actually operate any real Robotaxi service changes things.
In the Bay Area, Tesla claims to have launched its “Robotaxi”, but it is essentially using its Supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature with Tesla employees supervising the vehicles from the driver’s seat.
This is basically the same thing as an Uber driver who has a Tesla with FSD.
Therefore, technically, Tesla could cover half of the US population by recruiting a few drivers in all 40 biggest metro markets in the US to drive around in Tesla vehicles with FSD and claim that its “Robotaxi” covers half of the US population.
It would be a ridiculous thing to do and only celebrated by the most cultish of Tesla fans, but at this point, I wouldn’t be shocked.
My personal opinion is that the right thing to do is to deliver on what you promised: unsupervised self-driving in consumer vehicles built since 2016 and the promises made to other customers, such as the Las Vegas Convention Center.
If your self-driving technology is not working in a single-lane tunnel without other road users, it will not work on surface streets.
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