Mumbai: Autocar India and Mercedes-Benz India set a Guinness World Record title for the longest journey by an electric car on a single charge, covering 949 km in the Mercedes EQS 580 from Bengaluru to Navi Mumbai. This surpasses the previous record of 916.74 km set by a Ford Mustang Mach E in the UK.
The journey took place in monsoon conditions, with heavy rain and road detours adding to the challenge. Despite these obstacles, the Mercedes EQS 580, with its 107.8kWh battery and industry-leading aerodynamic design, managed to exceed its certified range of 857 km by more than 10 per cent.
Autocar India’s Rahul Kakar, who drove the record-setting car, shared, “I’ve hypermiled in a lot of vehicles before, both internal combustion and EVs, but this was my first time hypermiling a luxury EV. It’s by far the most challenging test I have undertaken, as in the past I never chased to break an existing record. A lot of factors made it all the more challenging like heavy rainfall, traffic, broken roads and worst of all, getting a flat tyre. With a target to achieve, it was equal hypertension as it was hypermile as the entire time I made calculations of the remaining range of the EQS with each percentage drop in the battery. In retrospect though, all the effort and stress was well worth claiming a Guinness World Record title.”
Autocar India celebrated this achievement as part of its 25 anniversary. Editor Hormazd Sorabjee remarked, “We are delighted to celebrate our 25 anniversary with a Guinness World Record title. This record of 949.0km on a single charge in adverse conditions is easily the most challenging drive we have ever undertaken. You can never be prepared enough for what Indian roads throw at you but some incredibly disciplined driving in a car like the EQS which has the best range and an efficient aerodynamic shape, helped us overcome all obstacles to achieve this amazing distance without plugging in”
Mercedes-Benz India’s managing director & CEO, Santosh Iyer said, “I thank all the early adopters of BEVs and every EQS customer for their trust in Mercedes-Benz, for creating a greener planet, by leading this BEV transition from the front. Congratulations to the Autocar India team for accomplishing the Guinness World Record title, driving a ‘Made in India’ EQS sedan, under real and arduous driving conditions from Bengaluru to Navi Mumbai during the monsoon.”
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