The Mercedes-Benz CLA, an upcoming all-electric sedan, broke an endurance record for near-production prototypes, beating the previous record held by the Porsche Taycan in 2019, as reported by Inside EVs.
A prototype of the CLA was driven 2,309 miles in 24 hours, nearly the length from Los Angeles to Cleveland, smashing the previous record by 181 miles. Within the day, the vehicle had to stop to be charged 40 times.
According to Inside EVs, each charging stop lasted for around 10 minutes, which was enough to get the car's charging state between 10% and 50% of the capacity of the battery. At 50%, that's enough for about 186 miles of driving. The total time stopped was 6 hours and 40 minutes, making the 2,309 miles in 17 hours and 20 minutes even more incredible.
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The impressive feat was made possible by the Mercedes-Benz CLA's impressive battery. The electric vehicle has the most efficient battery of any EV, with 5.2 miles per kilowatt-hour. This is even greater than the Tesla Model 3, one of the world's most efficient EVs, which gets 4.56 miles per kWh. With a two-speed transmission, the vehicle achieves 268 horsepower.
Six drivers split time between the three prototypes during the test as the engineering team monitored temperature changes and wind speed to adjust the charging strategies for maximum efficiency. The average speed of the vehicle throughout the day was 96.2 miles per hour, with a top speed of 130 mph.
According to Edmunds, there were 3.3 million electric vehicles in the U.S. in 2023. While this is still a fraction of all registered vehicles, EVs are becoming more popular because of their savings on fuel in addition to tax credits and their ability to reduce air pollution. EVs are becoming even more efficient, with some researchers saying the vehicles could reach 200 miles per gallon by 2050.
The endurance record from Mercedes-Benz shows the improvements in EV batteries and charging efficiency that could help transform the future of all-electric vehicles.
"Much as this might sound like a stunt, a 24-hour EV challenge like this manages to challenge the engineers in terms of both efficiency and charging speed," one commenter said. "I recently did about 1,500 miles in 36 hours in my EV so I can appreciate the effort."
The Mercedes-Benz CLA is set to be available for drivers in late 2025, with an efficiency of 400 miles per charge. Can't wait until then? Check out our guide on making your next vehicle electric.
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