New EQ Ready app: Trying out everyday e-mobility the virtual way

New EQ Ready app: Trying out everyday e-mobility the virtual way

New EQ Ready app: Trying out everyday e-mobility the virtual way

Ready for e-mobility? The new EQ Ready app helps motorists decide whether it makes sense for them personally to switch to an electric car or hybrid. The smartphone app can record real journeys made by the user, analyse his or her everyday mobility behaviour and compare it with numerous parameters of electric and hybrid vehicles. This makes it possible to try out e-mobility in a virtual yet realistic way. The EQ Ready app also recommends which alternatively powered model from smart or Mercedes-Benz best matches the user’s individual behaviour. The new app will go online for the IAA 2017, where it can also be experienced at the stand in Hall 2, Level 0.

Mercedes-Benz customers were not the only ones involved in the development of the new app in its pilot phase: members of Daimler’s Board of Management also let their usage behaviour be examined for e‑suitability. “The general conclusion is that electric cars and hybrids in e‑mode are much more suitable for everyday use than most people believe. Following their personal reality check with our app, even sceptics discover that an electric car or hybrid would satisfy their mobility needs,” says Wilko Stark, Head of Daimler & Mercedes-Benz Cars Strategy and Head of CASE.

The EQ Ready app can now be downloaded free of charge for iOS and Android in German and English. It is initially available for the German market; further countries and features are being planned. The smartphone records the journeys made by the user in their car (of any make). This generates a realistic usage profile that is significantly more meaningful than a once-only test drive.

All that users need to do is to login to their Mercedes me account with name and email address and enable the tracking feature in the app. The tracking feature records not only speed and acceleration but also stops or longer breaks, as well as ambient parameters such as temperature and altitude profile. This makes it possible to calculate the range and energy consumption.

To optimise their virtual e-driving experience, app users can manually enter potential charging stations, such as at home or at their place of work. In future, the app will be extended to include publicly available charging stations.

The personal mobility behaviour determined in this way is transmitted by wifi or mobile data to the Mercedes me server, where the relevant parameters of Mercedes-Benz and smart electric cars and hybrids are stored. Also in the case of a hybrid, the evaluation of mobility behaviour focuses exclusively on all-electric mode.

Developed by Mercedes-Benz, the software model for the app uses a host of vehicle-specific data, such as energy consumption, range, cd value, weight and rolling friction coefficient. The vehicle efficiencies derived therefrom were evaluated in road tests. The result was a very high agreement between simulations and real values.

New EQ Ready app: Trying out everyday e-mobility the virtual way

Among the vehicles included are smart electric drive models (combined power consumption: 13,1-12.9 kWh/100 km; combined CO2 emissions: 0 g/km) and plug‑in hybrids from Mercedes-Benz such as GLC 350 e 4MATIC (combined fuel consumption: 2.7-2.5 l/100 km; combined power consumption: 15,2-13,9 kWh/100 km; combined CO2 emissions: 64-59 g/km) and GLE 500 e (combined fuel consumption: 3.7-3.3 l/100 km; combined power consumption: 18,0-16,7 kWh/100 km; combined CO2 emissions: 84-78 g/km).

Based on the reference vehicle selected by the user, their personal values for range and energy consumption are determined and their mobility behaviour evaluated. Example of such an analysis: “Congratulations! All your journeys can be made electrically without additional recharging.”

Privacy is a key aspect of the app. To stop a journey being recorded, the user can disable the tracking feature at any time. The app also regularly reminds the user that data are being recorded.

The EQ Ready app is another CASE project and was developed in cooperation with “Digital House”. In a structure inspired by start-ups, the project quickly proceeded from idea to in-house incubator through to realisation. CASE summarises the strategic orientation at Mercedes-Benz Cars, bundling the following future topics into a single unit: connectivity (Connected), autonomous driving (Autonomous), flexible use (Shared & Services) and electric drive systems (Electric). The four CASE fields are an integral part of the corporate strategy of Daimler AG. The aim is to shape intuitive mobility for our customers through intelligent dovetailing of the CASE topics.

EQ: the new electric mobility brand from the inventor of the automobile

EQ offers a comprehensive electric mobility ecosystem of products, services, technologies and innovations. The spectrum ranges from electric vehicles and wallboxes to charging services and home energy storage units. The name EQ stands for “Electric Intelligence” and is derived from the Mercedes‑Benz brand values of “Emotion and Intelligence”. The new brand encompasses all key aspects for customer-focused electric mobility and extends beyond the vehicle itself.

Future models will embody the essentials of state-of-the-art electric mobility: the fusion of emotively appealing and intelligent design, exceptional driving pleasure, high everyday practicality and maximum safety, a hallmark of every vehicle from the inventor of the automobile.

The first series-produced model of the new EQ product brand, the EQC, is set to be produced at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Bremen, Germany from 2019. The EQC is based on the Concept EQ presented last year in Paris.

courtesy: media.daimler.com

Mercedes-Benz EQ: The new brand for electric mobility.

EQ: The new brand for electric mobility

At the Paris Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz unveiled its new product brand for electric mobility: EQ. The name EQ stands for “Electric Intelligence” and is derived from the Mercedes-Benz brand values of “Emotion and Intelligence”. The new brand encompasses all key aspects for customer-focused electric mobility and extends beyond the vehicle itself. EQ offers a comprehensive electric mobility ecosystem of products, services, technologies and innovations. The spectrum ranges from electric vehicles to wallboxes and charging services to home energy storage units.

The new brand is heralded by the close-to-production concept vehicle “Concept EQ”, which celebrated its world premiere in Paris. The first series-produced EQ model will be launched in the SUV segment before the end of this decade.

EQ: Clear orientation for customers.

The EQ portfolio will encompass all future battery-electric cars as well as the associated products and services from Mercedes-Benz. In this way, the inventor of the motorcar is providing a simple and transparent means of orientation for customers within its ever expanding portfolio. The EQ brand is therefore the next logical step in the sales and marketing strategy “Best Customer Experience”.

Mercedes-Benz already offers a suitable charging infrastructure for electric cars, including a wallbox as a fast-charging station for the home, the free app “Charge&Pay” for convenient recharging at public charging stations as well as – for home-owners and businesses – stationary energy storage units for power generated by photovoltaic or solar systems. All these products and services will in the future be bundled under EQ. In this way, Mercedes-Benz is creating a consistent and clear image for sustainable products and services with the star.

Showcar in Paris: “Concept EQ”.

With “Concept EQ”, Mercedes-Benz shows how electric cars can soon move into the fast lane: the concept vehicle with the appearance of a sporty SUV coupé gives a preview of a new generation of vehicles with battery-electric drives. The dynamic exterior design with its new electro-look underlines the focus on the powerful electric drive system: two electric motors, with a system output that can be increased to up to 300 kW thanks to scalable battery components, and permanent all-wheel drive deliver the guarantee of dynamic high-level performance.

With a range of up to 500 kilometres and the typical Mercedes-Benz strengths of safety, comfort, functionality and connectivity, “Concept EQ” meets every demand in terms of contemporary, sustainable mobility. Also on the inside, the vehicle offers innovative solutions, including a completely new interior concept. Celebrating its world premiere at the Paris Motor Show, “Concept EQ” is the forerunner of Mercedes-Benz’s new product brand for electric mobility, EQ.

CASE: Connected, Autonomous, Shared, Electric.

“The mobility of the future at Mercedes-Benz will stand on four pillars: Connected, Autonomous, Shared and Electric. ‘Concept EQ’ is the logical fusion of all four pillars,” says Dr Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars. “The emission-free automobile is the future. And our new EQ brand goes far beyond electric vehicles. EQ stands for a comprehensive electric ecosystem of services, technologies and innovations.”

The new generation of electric vehicles will be based on an architecture developed specifically for battery-electric models, which is scalable in every respect and usable across all models.

Design with new electro-look.

“Concept EQ is hot and cool,” says Gorden Wagener, Head of Design at Daimler AG. “Its fascination lies in a reinterpretation of our design philosophy of sensual purity, the aim being to create an avant-garde, contemporary and distinctive electro-look. At the same time, the design of the visionary show car, which has been reduced to the essentials, reveals an alluring progressivity.” The monolithic basic form of “Concept EQ” unites the genes of an SUV with the dynamic character of a coupé and a dash of shooting brake at the rear end.

Muscular-purist proportions.

The squat, elongated greenhouse gives rise to muscular-purist proportions. The new electro-look is the result of a flowing transition from the gleaming black bonnet across the windscreen to the dark-tinted panoramic roof – an exciting contrast to the alubeam silver paintwork. Scarcely visible body panel joints, concealed windscreen wipers, cameras instead of exterior mirrors and an absence of conventional door handles emphasise the stretched, dynamic silhouette.

Interior: Avant-garde and functional.

The focus of the driver-oriented cockpit is on simple, touch-based controls with a new electro-look consistently reflecting the exterior styling. The asymmetrical design of the instrument panel with its large, floating wide-screen display is tailored to the driver. The interior of “Concept EQ” is characterised by contemporary luxury, finding its main expression in an all-new user interface, which combines emotive appeal with intelligence and user-friendliness while dispensing with traditional switches and knobs, except for the electric seat adjustment typical of Mercedes-Benz. Bordered in rose gold, the centre console appears to float in space: dispensing with mechanical controls, it is equipped with touch-sensitive elements. Similarly to the touch controls on the steering wheel, the driver can use a finger to operate the automatic climate control and the infotainment system.


EQ: The new e-mobility brand.

The close-to-production concept vehicle “Concept EQ” marks the launch of an architecture for battery-electric vehicles across all models. Dieter Zetsche: “In 2007, the e-smart was a pioneer of electric motoring. We’re now flipping the switch. We’re ready for the launch of an electric product offensive that will cover all vehicle segments, from the compact to the luxury class.”

The coming models embody the essentials of state-of-the-art electric mobility – the fusion of appealing design, exceptional driving pleasure, high everyday practicality and maximum safety, typical of every vehicle manufactured by the inventor of the motorcar.

courtesy: www.mercedes-benz.com