The Mercedes-Benz EQV 300 is a luxurious all-electric van, equipped with a big 100 kWh battery and ready for long distance travel. In this post we will try to analyze its fast charging capabilities, using test results released recently by Fastned.
Charging power vs state-of-charge (SOC)
Let's start with the charging curve, which in the case of EQV is pretty flat. The peak seems to be around 110 kW, which is in line with the specs.
The charging power decreases gradually, after 50% SOC and then even more after about 85% SOC. Nonetheless, even at 90% it's still at 50 kW.
The manufacturer says that 10-80% DC fast charging should take about 45 minutes. There is also a three-phase 11 kW on-board charger.
Average charging power vs state-of-charge (SOC)
UPDATE (March 7, 2021): We updated/corrected some of the numbers (average values) and the Average charging power chart.
The average power, in the very important range from 20% to 80% SOC, is 93 kW, which is 85% of the peak value. An outstanding result.
Charging rate vs state-of-charge (SOC)
The peak C-rate* - charging power in relation to the total battery capacity of 100 kWh - is about 1.1C. Not particularly high, especially since there is a 10 kWh buffer.
The average C-rate when charging from 20% to 80% SOC is 0.93C.
*C-rate tells us how the charging power relates to the battery pack capacity. For example: 1C is 1-hour charging power (current), when the power value in kW is equal to the battery pack capacity in kWh. 2C would be enough to recharge in half an hour.
Range replenishing speed vs state-of-charge (SOC)
Taking into consideration the WLTP range of 356 km (221 miles) and available battery capacity of 90 kWh, we can assume energy consumption of 253 Wh/km (407 Wh/mile).
The effective average speed of range replenishing when charging from 20% to 80% SOC would be 6.1 km/minute (3.8 miles/minute).
Comparisons with other EVs
Comparison of charging power
The EQV has a noticeably bigger battery than the Mercedes-Benz EQC 400 SUV, but when we compare the two side-by-side, it turns out that the EQC is slightly ahead of the EQV.
A few more kW peak, and a few kW higher average from 20-80% SOC (98 kW vs 93 kW).
Comparison of charging rate
Assuming that the EQC has an 85 kWh pack (the usable capacity is around 80 kWh), it actually works harder than the one in the EQV.
Comparison of range replenishing speed
And the final chart - because of the huge differences in energy consumption, the EQC can easily win any long-distance race because it replenishes range much faster:
More about Mercedes-Benz EQV
General info:
* Some values on the charts are estimated from the data source.
** Temperature of the battery cells might highly negatively affect charging capabilities. We don't have data about temperatures of the battery at the beginning and during the charging process. In cold or hot weather, as well as after driving very dynamically, charging power might be significantly lower than shown on the charts (in extreme cases charging might be impossible until the battery temperature will not return to an acceptable level).