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.

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