Mercedes EV Beats Tesla To Clock 621.37 Miles In A Single Charge

German automaker Mercedes-Benz Group DMLRY said on Thursday its electric concept car has clocked over 621.4 miles on a single charge, leaving behind global electric vehicle leader Tesla Inc TSLA in a hotly-contested race to offer longer range.

What Happened: Mercedes said its Vision EQXX research car was driven from Germany to the French Riviera under everyday traffic as well as in cold and rainy conditions and at regular road speeds on a single battery charge. 

“The battery's state of charge on arrival was around 15%, amounting to a remaining range of around 140 kilometers (87 miles), and the average consumption was a record-breaking low of 8.7 kWh per 100 kilometers,” Mercedes said.

The vehicle covered the distance in just a little over 12 hours, crisscrossing through Germany,  Switzerland and Italy — finally reaching its destination in the South of France.

See Also: Tesla Rival Lucid Launches Luxury Sedan With Higher Range

Why It Matters: EV makers across the globe are either rolling out more public charging networks or deploying battery swapping services to ensure customers can drive longer distances without worrying about running off charge. 

Tesla CEO Elon Musk had last month in a Twitter post said adding range to an EV makes the product worse as “99.9% of time you’d be carrying unneeded battery mass, which makes acceleration, handling & efficiency worse."

"Even our 400+ mile range car is more than almost anyone will use,” Musk had said.

Tesla rival Lucid Motors Inc's LCID CEO Peter Rawlinson in November said he believes EVs will have less range 50-60 years from now as there will be less dependence on public charging networks.

Price Action: DMLRY stock closed 2.15% higher at $17.1 a share on Wednesday.

Photo: Courtesy of Mercedes