Photo: Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is getting ready to roll out by the middle of next year the EQC, its first fully-electric vehicle and one of many to come. Facts about the car are already pretty much known, expect perhaps those pertaining to safety.
An electric vehicle is by definition different that regular combustion cars when it comes to active and passive safety, so its only natural we see, perhaps for the first time in some cases, carmakers going al great lenghts to detail the testinging being done of such vehicles.
Mercedes-Benz is no exception and this week the Germans released some of the details regarding the safety features of the EQC.
The company says the EQC is, like all other Mercedes cars, going through an extensive program of crash tests at its technology center for vehicle safety.
The results coming from what Mercedes describes as harsh crash conditions led to several changes in design for the EQC. That includes adding a new subframe around the drive components at the front, an integral crash structure for the battery, or a high-voltage system that shuts down automatically in the event of a crash.
Mercedes even though of possible impacts an EQC might sustain during charging, so it fitted the car with a system that restricts the charging process when such an event is detected.
The smart brain of the car kicks in when a crash is detected and automatically activates an emergency call, shuts down the high-voltage system, activates the hazard warning lights, lowers the windows for ventilation and unlocks the doors.
For the occupants, the car will offer of course the standard safety features found in all or most other cars: three-point seat belts, window airbags, side impact airbags, frontal airbags and knee airbags for the driver.
The Mercedes-Benz EQC is powered by an 80-kWh battery, which works with a water-cooled onboard charger rated at 7.4 kW. The electric motors develop 402 hp, enough for 0 to 100 kph (0 to 62 mph) acceleration time of 5.1 seconds.
Mercedes-Benz is no exception and this week the Germans released some of the details regarding the safety features of the EQC.
The company says the EQC is, like all other Mercedes cars, going through an extensive program of crash tests at its technology center for vehicle safety.
The results coming from what Mercedes describes as harsh crash conditions led to several changes in design for the EQC. That includes adding a new subframe around the drive components at the front, an integral crash structure for the battery, or a high-voltage system that shuts down automatically in the event of a crash.
Mercedes even though of possible impacts an EQC might sustain during charging, so it fitted the car with a system that restricts the charging process when such an event is detected.
The smart brain of the car kicks in when a crash is detected and automatically activates an emergency call, shuts down the high-voltage system, activates the hazard warning lights, lowers the windows for ventilation and unlocks the doors.
For the occupants, the car will offer of course the standard safety features found in all or most other cars: three-point seat belts, window airbags, side impact airbags, frontal airbags and knee airbags for the driver.
The Mercedes-Benz EQC is powered by an 80-kWh battery, which works with a water-cooled onboard charger rated at 7.4 kW. The electric motors develop 402 hp, enough for 0 to 100 kph (0 to 62 mph) acceleration time of 5.1 seconds.
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