Mercedes-Benz’s Real-Life Crash Test, The EQA And EQS Head-On Collision

Stepping it up a level and the first to do it, Mercedes-Benz’s public crash test with two fully-electrified vehicles, the EQA and EQS SUVs.

Head-on colliding two real EVs, this aims to prove that they are just as safe as Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles.

Mercedes-Benz Group AG’s Chief Technology Officer and Management Board Member, Markus Schafer, expressed, “Safety is part of Mercedes-Benz’s DNA and one of our core commitments to all road users. 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.”

The crash test was executed at the automaker’s Technology Centre for Vehicle Safety in Sindelfingen, Germany, using an EQA 300 and an EQS 450.

Outclassing the safety legal requirements, the e-SUVs weigh 2,200 KG and 3,000 KG respectively, and were going faster at 56 KM/H. 

It was done with a 50% frontal overlap, meaning an offset collision instead of perfectly aligned. This mimics accidents common on rural roads, for instance a failed overtaking.

Also included are four adult crash test dummies, two in each vehicle. Three females and one male, outfitted with 150 crash sensors each. 

“The four female and male dummies complied with the biomechanical limits in this extremely severe crash. This demonstrates our expertise in electric vehicle safety,” concluded Prof. Dr. Paul Dick, Mercedes-Benz Group AG’s Head of Vehicle Safety.

Despite a bewildering aftermath, the results concluded that both the e-SUVs were able to effectively absorb the energy of the collision by deforming the front impact zone.

As such, the passenger safety cells remained in shape, allowing the doors to still be opened, and the test dummies were all found with a low risk of serious to fatal injury. 

Ensuring absolute safety, the high-voltage systems of the e-SUVs also switched off automatically, at the moment of impact. 

Ultimately, the crash test successfully demonstrated 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. 

Schafer concluded, “We don’t just want zero traffic fatalities by 2050 and a halving in the number of traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2030 compared to 2020. Our goal by 2050 is zero accidents involving a Mercedes-Benz vehicle.”