[vb-saan]

In the not-so-distant past, we used to say that EVs are the future, and before we could realise it the future has arrived. Major auto manufacturers have jumped onto the EV bandwagon and technological advancements are so rapid that the high initial cost, range anxiety, and lack of infrastructure are becoming a thing of the past. Governments and administrations across the globe have introduced incentives and support schemes to accelerate the cause and have set ambitious EV transformation targets for the next decade and beyond. The current geopolitical scenario also majorly plays to the need for electrification and less reliance on fossil fuels.

Mercedes-Benz has been leading the luxury auto industry in India for a while, and now they are looking to cement their position by deep diving into the luxury EV space in the country. The launch of their flagship EV, the new EQS, is just around the corner, and the company expects to create a new benchmark in electric mobility with this locally produced model.

As a prequel to the launch, Mercedes India organized a special media experience program in Stuttgart, Germany for us to have a glimpse into their future – a tour of Factory 56 (what they call the Factory of the Future), Mercedes-Benz Museum, interactive sessions with their experts, and a short drive of their electric cars – the soon to be launched EQS, and the EQB, which is expected to arrive later this year.

The event took place from July 4 to 6, and the agenda was as follows*:

• Day 1 – July 4: A tour of Factory 56, Sindelfingen, followed by a Roundtable at Mercedes-Benz Kundencenter.
• Day 2 – July 5: Mercedes-Benz Museum visit, followed by the EQB drive.
• Day 3 – July 6: EQS drive.

*Please click on the hyperlinks for accessing the respective sections.

[vb-saan]

The flight from Singapore to Stuttgart (via Frankfurt) was pleasant and uneventful and I reached the hotel around mid-day on July 4. It was not the case for the other participants though – delayed flights, changed connections from Frankfurt/Munich, lost baggage, it all was happening. Lufthansa did its best to make the trip a memorable one for them. To their credit, the folks received their missing baggage, right on time before their return flight

This was our base for the next three days - Le Meridian Stuttgart


Day 1: Factory 56 visit, and Roundtable at Mercedes-Benz Kundencenter

After a quick intro and lunch, we set out for the Factory 56 visit. At the entrance we were briefed about the rules and expectations – strictly no use of mobile phones or cameras, not to block the way, or hinder the movement in the assembly line. Mr. Michael Bauer, Head of Production Mercedes-Benz plant Sindelfingen, gave an insight into Factory 56 with a wonderful presentation and then guided us through the factory tour. He was extremely patient and answered all the questions during the tour. For me, personally, the Factory 56 visit was the highlight of the trip.

Note: As photography at the factory premises was prohibited, all photographs used in this section are provided by Mercedes Benz.





Michael explained in detail, the key guiding principles they follow at Factory 56 – Flexibility, Digitalization, and Sustainability.

Flexibility:

• The Factory 56 setup is such that the S-Class (regular and long-wheelbase/hybrid models), EQS, and the Maybach – all can be produced on the same assembly line. We got to see in real-time, the mixed-mode in work – the S and EQS being assembled on the same line. The real benefit is that they can scale up or down the production of a specific model depending on the demand.
• The new generation E-Class also will be rolled out from the same line in the future. The system setup is modular enough to add another model to the assembly line with minimum effort and downtime.
• They have 300 driverless transport systems in use. Data from these systems is collected, evaluated, and utilized to improve existing production processes, thus avoiding plant malfunctions with predictive maintenance.
• Shopping carts are being used across the board in the factory to supply the assembly stations. I found this extremely fascinating – the carts move along designated guidelines and also slow down/stop on detecting any obstacles on the way. It happened a few times when the group stepped over some of the guidelines – live demo I would say
• Employees work with instructions coming through monitors and personal digital assistants (PDAs).

Sustainability

• Factory 56 is systematically designed as a zero-carbon factory and operates on a CO2-neutral basis right from the beginning. With this, the overall energy required is 25 percent less compared to other assembly halls.
• A photovoltaic system on the roof supplies the facility with enough self-generated green electricity to cover around 30 percent of Factory 56's annual electricity requirements.
• For ecological reasons, there are plants on approximately 40 percent of the roof surface. This compensates for the sealed ground area and, by retaining rainwater, improves the climate inside the building.
• The main building of Factory 56 is also designed with sustainability as a highlight. Its facade uses recycled concrete, which not only allowed them to conserve resources during construction, but also to sustainably recycle waste products.

Digitalization:

• They mentioned that, with consistent digitalization, the factory saves around 10 tons of paper each year. Paperless production is enabled by innovative technologies such as 5G and high-performance WLAN.
• There is digital tracking of each vehicle on the line via a positioning system, employees no longer receive the associated data in document form, but in real-time on monitor displays and personal digital assistants (PDAs)

One key aspect I noticed about the factory was its people-centric approach. The assembly line work is often monotonous but the staff we encountered during the tour looked happy and always returned a smile. Michael further explained their human-centric approach with Factory 56:

• The entire concept of Factory 56 focuses on the human; the level of automation is cut down to only necessary and economic reasons thus creating a balanced workplace of the future.
• The assembly line is designed in such a way that no employees have to do any manual work with arms lifted above their shoulder level. The tilt mechanism at the assembly helps them to get on with their work with minimum fatigue. This was quite fascinating to watch.
• 15 shifts are in operation every week, starting from Sunday evening to Friday evening. And depending on the demand, this could go to 17 shifts (extending to Saturday afternoon). The working time models are developed in consultation with the employees and works councils.
• An employee's wishes regarding his/her shift plan depending on his/her personal situation are always taken into consideration, thus promoting a balance between family and professional life.

A few more pictures to close off the Factory 56 visit...















With the factory visit completed, and a short break to socialize, we were back on the bus to visit Mercedes-Benz Kundencenter (Customer Center) for a round table with Mr. Joerg Burzer, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Production & Supply Chain Management.

Jeorg is a veteran at Mercedes-Benz and was extremely happy to explain what he sees as the future of Mercedes and how EVs and traditional fuel-powered cars can co-exist depending on the market and the infrastructure. Being a production guy, he sounded extremely happy and proud of Factory 56 in particular, and how the same production model can be replicated in their factories worldwide (e.g. in India). Currently, European/continental cars have a generation lifecycle of 7-9 years with a mid-life facelift thrown in between, and one of the questions asked was, if he foresees a change in that with the fast-paced technology changes happening, especially with the EVs – battery technology, user interfaces, etc. He replied that the future of cars looks to be driven more by software than hardware and frequent OTA updates will be a norm (like in the case of mobile phones). Aligned to that thought, I would even think that we may see new versions of cars launched every year (or every alternate year) – say like Apple product launches.

The interaction was short (just around an hour) as Jeorg had a flight to catch, but it was time well-spent indeed.

A few shots around the Kundencenter. I believe it will be quite an experience for customers to take delivery of a new car from this facility.

[vb-saan]

Day 2 Morning: Mercedes Benz Museum

It was a relaxed start to the day and at 10 am, the bus was ready to pick us up for the Mercedes-Benz Museum visit.

First glimpse of the museum:


While waiting in the lobby:


The massive atrium with a 3-pointed star roof. The projection display travels along with the elevator on its opposite side:


A miniature view of the Stuttgart Market Square around 1890:


1886 Daimler Motorkutsche – a replica of Daimler's motorized carriage, which was the world's first four-wheeled automobile:


1888 Wölfertsches Motor-Luftschiff – a replica of Wölfert's motorized airship, the world's first motorized airship:


1893 Benz Victoria – the Victoria was Karl Benz's first four-wheeled automobile:


1894 Benz Motor-Velociped, also known as Velo. Benz was able to sell 1,200 units between 1894 and 1901. This was not only the first small car, but also the world's first large-scale production vehicle:


1898 Daimler Motor-Lastwagen – Daimler motorized truck from the year 1898 is the world's oldest goods vehicle still in existence:


A wall of information:


Birth of the brand Mercedes:


1902 Mercedes-Simplex 40PS – a special exhibit indeed. This 40 hp Mercedes-Simplex is the oldest Mercedes still in existence and had a top speed of 80 km/h:


1904 Mercedes-Simplex 60 ps Touring Limousine, and 1909 Benz 35 ps Landaulet:


1923 Mercedes 10/40 ps Sport-Zweisitzer – Mercedes sports two-seater, the passenger car that was developed after World War I:


1928 Mercedes-Benz 26/120/180 ps Typ S – Mercedes Model S tourer, with a top speed of 160 km/h:




1928 Mercedes-Benz 27/170/225 ps Typ SSK Sport-Zweisitzer – Mercedes-Benz model SSK sports two-seater, a more powerful and shorter version of the Mercedes-Benz model S. The SSK, was specially developed for hill climb races:


1936 Mercedes-Benz 500 K Spezial-Roadster – Mercedes-Benz 500 K Special Roadster was the car of the rich and the beautiful. The elegant 500 K sports car was the brand's showpiece in the 1930s:






1938 Mercedes-Benz 260 D Pullman-Limousine – the Mercedes-Benz 260 D was the world's first diesel-engined passenger car:


1952 Mercedes-Benz 300 – the fastest and biggest German-built production car in 1951:


1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Coupé. With its characteristic upward-opening doors, the dream car of the 1950s was popularly known as the Gullwing:








1964 Mercedes-Benz 220 S – The Mercedes-Benz 220 S and its sister models, the 220 and 220 SE, were the world's first production cars built with the safety body patented by Béla Barényi. This body is distinguished by energy-absorbing crumple zones at the front and rear and an especially sturdy passenger compartment:


1991 Mercedes-Benz 500 SL – a very special car with a royal history. In December 1991, Princess Diana acquired this Mercedes-Benz 500 SL. The wife of the Prince of Wales thus became the first member of the royal house to drive a foreign car privately. In response to criticism from the government, the trade unions and industry, she returned the car in September 1992.

[vb-saan]

Day 2 Morning: Mercedes Benz Museum (cont'd)

If anyone visits the museum in the future, I would suggest setting aside at least half a day (a full day will be even better).

A few more pictures to close off the museum visit.

The SL floor:






Showcasing the motorsport heritage:






1909 Benz 200 ps Rennwagen – the 1909 Lightning Benz 200 hp racing car became the first European car to break the 125 mph barrier. Powered by a massive four-cylinder powerplant, the Lightning posted its most famous performances in Florida. In 1911, Bob Burman recorded 142 mph on the Daytona sand track, making the car the fastest vehicle on the planet; quicker even than any aircraft or train:


A parting shot – I am not really a museum person, but the amount of automotive history this place has to offer is immense, and it has the ability to take you into those respective eras. I hope to go back for a detailed visit in the near future.

[vb-saan]

Day 2 Afternoon: Driving the EQB

After a quick lunch at the Mercedes-Benz Museum, the team led us to the basement carpark. It was time for us to check out the EQS and EQB, and I got to start with the EQB. A quick rundown of the car, and soon we were off driving our respective cars. The route was preset to start from the Museum and end at Le Meridian Stuttgart, our base for the trip.

The EQS will be the model that will be coming to India immediately, and the EQB Crossover is expected to follow later this year. This is just an initial impression of both the cars and a detailed review will follow during their respective launches in India.

Introduction
Those who are familiar with the Mercedes-Benz MFA2 platform cars (e.g. A-Class, GLA, GLB, etc.) will immediately feel at home in the EQB. I personally liked the boxy look of the EQB compared to its siblings, say the almost hatchback-like look of the GLA.

Feature summary
Enter the car, and you are greeted with the now-familiar MBUX interface, with two large high-res screens integrated into one console. The settings and controls are all familiar and easy to use. All the comfort features, ambient lighting, USB-C ports, and wireless charging, ventilated memory seats for both driver and front passenger, Mercedes navigation with augmented reality are all available and the car, in general, is a cheerful place to be in. The front and the rear carry the Mercedes EV family design language with the piano black slab in place of the radiator grille and a full-length LED light strip running across the front and rear. The car is available in both 5-seater and 7-seater configurations (we got to drive the 5-seater); the latter will definitely be more appealing to Indian customers. With the 5-seater version, space is not an issue at all. There is sufficient room at the rear, and boot space is a respectable 465 liters. I would say that the under-thigh support afforded by the rear seat is slightly lacking, but that’s probably the only gripe I have about the interior comfort.

On the move
The EQB 4matic comes in 2 variants – the entry-level EQB 300 comes with around 220 bhp and does 0-100 km/h in 8 seconds, whereas the EQB 350 (which I got to drive) comes with 288 bhp and 0-100 km/h is achieved in 6.2 seconds. Both models have the same 66.5 kWh battery and a claimed range (WLTP) of 419 km. Lift your foot off the brake pedal and EQB gently moves forward. Power delivery is crisp and refined. There’s no drama here. The car builds up pace rapidly, in a very linear fashion, and feels extremely composed. The brake regen can be managed via the paddles behind the steering wheel. This is a real boon on the roads where speed limits suddenly drop from say 100 km/h to 80 km/h.

On the German roads (highways and B-roads), I felt the ride quality is good. Stability is extremely good, and it is an easy car to cruise along on the German expressways. There is a hint of body roll around the corners, but nothing to feel concerned about. The car is at its best when driven in a relaxed way. The steering is direct, light and easy to use at slow speeds, and has sufficient weight at higher speeds. I did not have a rear seat passenger to check/comment about the rear seat comfort on the move. The car is extremely silent (obvious for an electric car), and even wind noise is well controlled.

I drove the EQB for around 100 km / 2 hours, before returning the car to the hotel parking. A few pictures to close the drive.

Not much to differentiate it from its sibling, the GLB:




A view of the cockpit. Do notice the rose gold A/C vents, which is, supposedly, the colour of the season. I felt it is totally out of place in the EQB though


The large panel takes the center stage:


Sufficient headroom and legroom in the rear; for reference, I am 185 cm tall and the driver seat has been adjusted to my driving position:


The rear floor is not fully flat. The transmission tunnel is wide and prominent:


Rear seats can be folded flat:


Even a microfiber cloth has been provided. It keeps dust away from the piano black surfaces!


The route for the afternoon drive:

[vb-saan]

Day 3: Driving the EQS

The drive was starting right from the hotel. Two hours later, all cars met up for a lunch break, and then continued driving and returned back to the hotel after another two hours driving. This time, I had the gleaming black EQS to drive (more on the pain of black colour later). This is the car that will soon be manufactured and launched in India, and a significant step for Mercedes India when it comes to their EV roadmap. As I mentioned earlier, this is just a sneak peek. A full review will follow when the car gets launched in India. I must admit that I got so engrossed in driving this beauty that stopping for pictures was not an easy task

Introduction
The EQS probably is the most important electric model for Mercedes to date. It is packed with technology that we may see trickling down to the lower models in the near future. Its claimed operating range of 770 km (WLTP) will be the highest for any EV launched in India so far. From my brief stint, I felt that the EQS has all the opulence and comfort of the S-Class, with the sheer power/acceleration that comes with the electric motors. It will easily take more than a day to run through the features available in the EQS. I finished the day mighty impressed with the car. The EQS is based on the Mercedes EVA2 platform and shares its underpinnings with the likes of the slightly smaller EQE.

Feature summary
Unlike the EQB, it’s an entirely new world inside the EQS. The large MBUX Hyperscreen, which Mercedes calls the brain and nervous system of the car, takes the center stage. All the information and controls are accessible through this one large dashboard with three screens. Even the front passenger gets his/her own screen. Comfort features are in abundance here. The seats offer all kinds of adjustments and features expected (cooling, ventilation, recline/adjustments for all seats, memory functions for the front seats, etc.). The rear passengers get their own screens as well. Navigation with head-up display and augmented reality/real-time traffic signal view, ambient lighting, wired and wireless charging, continuous LED DRLs, full-length red lightbar at the rear, rear-wheel steering, adaptive suspension that watches the road ahead for bumps, park assist, lane assist, 360-degree camera, DC fast charging of 10-80% in just around 30 mins - the feature list just goes on and on. The head-up display, especially with all the relevant information, is extremely useful as I found the sci-fi hyperscreen a bit distracting at times.

With a length of 5,216 mm, width of 1,926 mm and a wheelbase of 3,210 mm, the car is huge, and interior space is in abundance. The notchback style boot offers massive storage of 610 liters (1,770 liters with rear seats folded down). The front end features the familiar Mercedes EV face, but the embedded 3-point star patterns add to the visual appeal. The massive bonnet is sealed and there is no ‘frunk’ here. The car is like one curve line running from front to rear. The coupe-like roofline doesn’t restrict the rear headspace and gives the car a nice proportionate look. The car I got had black exteriors and the sunlight glare was too much in the German summer. The abundance of shiny black surfaces inside ensured that every bit of dust was well-highlighted. I am a big fan of black interiors, but for the EQS, I feel, lighter-colored interiors will work better.

On the move
What I got here was the fully loaded twin-motor EQS 580 4Matic variant with a battery capacity of 107.8 kWh and a range of 770 km (WLTP). There’s also a single motor RWD variant EQS 450+ on offer. Press the start-stop button on the center console, and the car comes alive dramatically with the massive dashboard lighting up. There is eerie silence inside the cabin, and it remains like that throughout the drive. A slight dab on the accelerator and the car is ready to fly. It's lightning-quick with 500+ bhp on tap and 0-100 km/h comes in 4.1 seconds (claimed). I did not time the run, but can clearly say that it goes from standstill to 3-digit speeds in a jiffy. According to Mercedes, the EQS is the world's most aerodynamic production vehicle with a drag coefficient of just 0.20. For a car that weighs over 2,000 kg, the acceleration is just unreal. It was really hard to stay within the speed limits on the German highways and the head-up display that constantly displays the current speed limit was a real boon. Regen braking was also very useful to shed speed on the highways.

The car was running on big 21-inch tyres but the ride was super plush, just what you would expect from a luxury limousine. The adaptive suspension ensured that any minor aberrations on the German country roads were smoothened out. The steering is direct and easy, which makes the car feel like a small hatchback to drive. It feels pretty agile going around corners. But don’t let that small car feel fool you; though the weight of the car is well-disguised, the large dimensions can be a bit daunting on narrow roads. It is big enough to fill up a whole lane, with negligible space to spare. In the city streets, I was driving the car in Comfort mode, and on the highways and winding sections (the route chosen by Mercedes had them in abundance), it was Sport mode by default. The chosen route for the afternoon apparently had sections of Autobahn with no speed limit, but somehow I missed that due to the construction work/road diversions on the way. Nevertheless, being alone in the car really helped as there was no audience to control my ecstatic loud laughs . There was a very non-intrusive fake engine noise played through the speakers, and I actually liked it. The noise insulation is top-notch. Wind and tyre noise are well-contained.

Imposing yet elegant face:




Coupe-like profile:


An array of 3-point stars on the front grille plate:


EQS badging at the base of the A-Pillar:


Door handles pop out when you get closer to the car (with the key in your pocket):


21-inch wheels shod with 265/40 section tyres. The alloy wheel design looks good:


Frameless doors look great:


Charging socket:




Panoramic sunroof:


Press the logo to open the boot:


Wide notchback boot:




A closer look at the boot:


Buttons to close/adjust the boot opening height:


Storage for charging cables and accessories:

[vb-saan]

Day 3: Driving the EQS (cont'd)

A full view of the dashboard screens (Image courtesy: Mercedes-Benz):


A closer look at the digital instrument cluster:


Head-up display:


A/C vents that run across the dashboard:




Navigation & live traffic view:




Camera views and parking assist:




Drive modes – Eco, Comfort, Sports, and Individual:


Center console with the start/stop button. Wood trim looks classy:




Seat controls with memory function (for both front seats):


Legroom is ample in the rear:




Individual A/C controls for the rear passengers:




Rear passenger infotainment screen:


Burmester speakers – the sound quality is awesome:


The white interiors (I prefer these in the EQS compared to the black interiors) will be a bit hard to maintain though (Image courtesy: Mercedes-Benz):


I drove the EQS for around 320 km / 5 hours, before reluctantly parking it in the hotel driveway and handing over the key. It was a perfect culmination of the 3-day event. A parting shot to conclude:


Route map for the day:




Disclaimer: Mercedes Benz India invited Team-BHP for the EQ Experience Program in Stuttgart, Germany. They covered all the travel expenses for this event.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[SmartCat]

Mercedes cars of 1920s to 1940s era looked amazing.

Originally Posted by vb-san

full view of the dashboard screens (Image courtesy: Mercedes-Benz):

Are these screens and background light distracting? If Mercedes is doing this on their top spec cars, eventually all mainstream car interiors will end up looking like this, say 5 years from now.



If somebody has admin login to wikipedia, we could upload this image to the "LIGHT POLLUTION" page
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_pollution

Light pollution is the presence of unwanted, inappropriate, or excessive artificial lighting. In a descriptive sense, the term "light pollution" refers to the effects of any poorly implemented lighting, during the day or night. Medical research on the effects of excessive light on the human body suggests that a variety of adverse health effects may be caused by light pollution or excessive light exposure, and some lighting design textbooks use human health as an explicit criterion for proper interior lighting.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

Are these screens and background lights distracting?

As I mentioned above, the screens can be a bit distracting to start with, but once on the move, you will kind of forget about it. All the information needed is available right in front via the digital console and heads-up display, so there’s hardly any need to glance through the other screens.

I don’t know how it will feel at night as I did not get a chance to experience the car after sunset, thanks to the super long summer sunshine in Europe. But I must admit – the sense of opulence is pretty high in the EQS.

Originally Posted by SmartCat

If Mercedes is doing this on their top spec cars, eventually all mainstream car interiors will end up looking like this, say 5 years from now.

That probably will be the case, I guess. Screens and software will play an equal role to hardware in the future; it’s probably a matter of time before we get used to it.

And I feel big mainstream players are going exactly the opposite of the Tesla way, anti-minimalist if we can say that .

[Aanchal Kaushik]

Originally Posted by vb-san

Day 3: Driving the EQS (cont'd)

I am in awe of the entire post. It is so well described and I am personally a Merc fan so this was a complete treat to my eyes. Thank you for sharing the entire experience here.

[car-go]

Fantastic review and coverage! Future proof :-)

Wondering, if a car comes with say, a battery with a given capacity. Then MB comes up with the 2nd edition of the model with enhanced capacity. How will that be propagated to the existing/ older model using software updates (not considering a factory recall and re-fit)?

May be someone would figure out having such infrastructure provisioned "as code" that can be an OTA update. In that case, the additional capacity would be residing on some kind of "cloud infrastructure" (common term in IT)..? Or, how will be the electric charge be propagated to the older model using the update? Do share your ideas; would be interesting.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by car-go

Wondering, if a car comes with say, a battery with a given capacity. Then MB comes up with the 2nd edition of the model with enhanced capacity. How will that be propagated to the existing/ older model using software updates (not considering a factory recall and re-fit)?

This was one of the questions that came up in the interaction with the Mercedes team, and how it will impact, say the resale value of the car. A 5-year-old car with a 200 km range (considering the battery degradation over the year) probably won’t retain much value if the technology at that time has a 500 km range as a norm. That said, I feel there will be some level of baseline (in terms of technology, battery capacity, etc.) by the time EVs become a common feature on Indian roads.

[carthick1000]

Thanks vb-san for a nice write up. I wonder if there is a post on 'How to be a team-bhp mod/reviewer?' .

Originally Posted by car-go

In that case, the additional capacity would be residing on some kind of "cloud infrastructure" (common term in IT)..? Or, how will be the electric charge be propagated to the older model using the update? Do share your ideas; would be interesting.

AFAIK, you cannot upload and download physical (battery/cell/structure) and chemical (chemical reaction within cells)components just like software. So the best possible upgrade OEMs can provide via OTA (over-the-air) updates is to optimise use of energy by various systems and making the EVs more efficient. Making it effiecient is the best way to extract more from the available battery capacity. Tesla and Porsche are good examples of it.