Mercedes-Benz recently became the world's first car manufacturer to conduct a frontal offset crash between two electric vehicles. A Mercedes EQA and an EQS SUV collided head-on with a 50 percent overlap in a real-life accident scenario, each traveling at 35 mph. The result: the passenger compartment and high-voltage battery of both vehicles remained intact as intended, doors could be opened, and the high-voltage systems switched off automatically.

The test crash scenario was meant to simulate what might happen on a rural road in a failed passing maneuver. 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.

The EQA and the EQS SUV each carried two adult dummies – a total of three females and one male. Analysis of the up to 150 measuring points per dummy indicates a low risk of serious-to-fatal injury. This means that the defined crumple zones and advanced restraint systems in both vehicles offer excellent protection potential for the occupants in a crash of this severity. All safety equipment, such as airbags and belt tensioners with belt force limiters, worked as intended.

"This crash test involving two electric vehicles, which we have shared publicly for the first time in this way, underlines our commitment to building the world's safest vehicles. The four female and male dummies complied with the biomechanical limits in this extremely severe crash. This demonstrates our expertise in electric vehicle safety," said Prof. Dr. Paul Dick, Head of Vehicle Safety at Mercedes-Benz AG

Shop our Mercedes EV lineup.