A car company say they have carried out the world’s first public crash test involving two fully electric vehicles.<br /><br />Motoring giant Mercedes-Benz smashed two cars into each other at almost 35mph.<br /><br />The impact test was designed to show how the electric cars surpassed minimum safety requirements, especially when weighty battery packs can make EVs heavier than petrol or diesel-fueled motors.<br /><br />The crash test, at the Group’s Technology Centre for Vehicle Safety in Sindelfingen, saw EQA and EQS SUV models collide head-on with a 50 percent overlap in a real-life accident scenario, each travelling at 56 km/h (34.8 mph).<br /><br />This scenario was designed to replicate an accident common on rural roads, often involving a failed overtaking action.<br /><br />The German manufacturer explains: "With the world’s first public crash test involving two fully electric vehicles, Mercedes-Benz is going above and beyond not only the legal requirements but also those of the ratings industry.<br /><br />"Euro NCAP stipulates a frontal impact test using a 1,400 kg trolley with an aluminium honeycomb barrier replicating the front of another vehicle.<br /><br />"In accordance with the specifications, the test vehicle and the trolley collide with an overlap and at a speed of 50 km/h.<br /><br />"Mercedes-Benz, however, used two real vehicles, an EQA and an EQS SUV, which are significantly heavier at around 2.2 and three tonnes respectively.<br /><br />"In addition, both models were faster, each going 56 km/h, which meant that the overall crash energy was considerably higher than required by law."<br /><br />The firm say the vehicles’ extensive deformation following the collision may seem alarming to the non-expert.<br /><br />For the Mercedes-Benz engineers, however, it shows that the vehicles were able to effectively absorb the energy of the collision by deforming.<br /><br />As a result, the passenger safety cell of both electric models remained intact and the doors could still be opened.<br /><br />In an emergency, this would make it possible for occupants to exit the vehicle on their own or for first responders and rescue personnel to reach them.<br /><br />The high-voltage system in the EQA and the EQS SUV was reported to have switched off automatically during the collision.<br /><br />Mercedes add: "The crash test at the Group’s Technology Centre for Vehicle Safety in Sindelfingen demonstrates Mercedes‑Benz’s real-life safety philosophy: To make cars that hold up not only in defined crash test scenarios, but also in real-life accidents.<br /><br />"The test scenario involving a speed of 56 km/h and 50 percent frontal overlap corresponds to a type of accident common on rural roads, for example during a failed overtaking manoeuvre."<br /><br />The speed selected for the test takes into account that, in a real-life accident, the drivers would still try to brake before the worst case of a collision.<br /><br />Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Chief Technology Officer, says: "Safety is part of Mercedes-Benz’s DNA and one of our core commitments to all road users. And to us, protecting human lives is not a question of drive system.<br /><br />"The recent crash test involving two fully electric vehicles demonstrates this. It proves that all our vehicles have an equally high level of safety, no matter what technology drives them."
