In the deep winter, the Beijing Badaling Expressway is filled with flowing cars, surrounded by towering mountains. After activating the L2+ navigation assisted driving system, the new long-wheelbase Mercedes-Benz E-Class seems to swim like a fish, autonomously navigating through the sea of cars without human intervention, following, changing lanes, overtaking, accelerating and decelerating like an experienced “old driver” speeding through the blue mountains.
In the highly competitive and rapidly evolving automotive market, the E-Class, the best-selling model in the history of the Mercedes-Benz family with over 16 million units delivered globally, represents the evolution direction and distinct value proposition of Mercedes-Benz. Tonight, Duan Jianjun, President and CEO of Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Service Co., Ltd., announced the price of the all-new long-wheelbase E-Class, ranging from 449,000 to 529,800 yuan (74830$). At the launch ceremony, Mercedes-Benz showcased how the E-Class, now in its 11th generation, continues to surpass expectations and innovate for both new and existing users. So, how does the all-new long-wheelbase E-Class uphold and innovate? L2+ Intelligent Driving: Trustworthy Currently, the “noise” of driving assistance systems is loud, but “having” does not necessarily mean “usable” or “daring to use.” There are not many drivers who are accustomed to using driving assistance systems as soon as they get in the car.
As a pioneer in the field of intelligent driving, Mercedes-Benz, with its never-ending passion for innovation and unwavering commitment to putting customer safety first, has become the only global car manufacturer with dual L3 and L4 certification. How much innovation will the first-to-use L2+ navigation assisted driving system bring? Trust is not built overnight, but step by step in every “stable performance” of the all-new long-wheelbase E-Class.
“Leading” goes without saying. The L2+ navigation assisted driving system by Mercedes-Benz covers highways and urban expressways nationwide, achieving point-to-point navigation assistance on highways, with the ability to automatically change lanes, overtake, and keep a safe distance from large vehicles… The automatic on-ramp and off-ramp function will be delivered in 2024. This intelligent driving system, first launched in the all-new long-wheelbase E-Class by Mercedes-Benz, allows you to confidently entrust the driving to the vehicle itself. The “AEB active braking assist system” that everyone is currently focused on, in the all-new long-wheelbase E-Class, is “on standby” at speeds of 7-250 km/h, and can identify bicycles and pedestrians, reducing the occurrence rate of pedestrian accidents by 27% in addition to motor vehicles.
“Easy to use” is a very direct feeling, Mercedes-Benz pursues “delicacy” in technology, and fully displays it. In the crowded traffic on the Badaling Expressway, it skillfully changes lanes, overtakes, accelerates and decelerates, each action is smooth and agile, without abruptness or jerking, with the driver as the leader, not grabbing the steering wheel, the driver can intervene at any time; based on the characteristics of Chinese roads, it has smaller lane change space, lower lane change speed, and the longest hands-free time can reach 30 seconds, showing more Chinese wisdom. It is obvious that Mercedes-Benz’s intelligent innovation is not just “piling up materials”, but constantly exploring a better user experience.
The biggest pain point of intelligent driving is “reliability”, only the “daring to use” is the “true intelligence”. Mercedes-Benz is the first car brand in human history to initiate car crash tests, “safety” has long been ingrained in the brand’s DNA: every time a new Mercedes-Benz car is launched, it has to undergo 15,000 simulated crash calculations and 150 actual car crash tests. In Mercedes-Benz’s view, the driving assistance system must also undergo full verification before being delivered to customers. This L2+ navigation assisted driving system, before official use, has gone through roads in dozens of cities in China, covering over 23,000 customer usage scenarios, to ensure reliability. Intelligent cockpit: understands you in seconds Not only does it bring a “fault-line” leading intelligent driving experience, the all-new long-wheelbase E-Class has so many “surprise points” in the intelligent dimension, it is unexpected and truly deserves to be the leader of the luxury car “intelligent cockpit” era.
The new long-wheelbase E-Class is the first luxury model to be equipped with the Qualcomm 8295 smart cockpit chip, making it the “most powerful in computing power”. Its computing power is twice that of the mainstream cockpit chip Qualcomm 8155, allowing the third-generation MBUX intelligent human-machine interaction system to respond faster and perform more stably. Without having to say “Hey, Mercedes”, you can continuously give commands, such as “I’m hot”, “Open the window”, “Turn on the music”… the system instantly understands and smoothly executes the commands.
The new long-wheelbase E-class car is the first in the automotive industry to apply federated learning technology, achieving “data privacy, model sharing” without worrying about personal privacy and security. The “lane-level” new Amap custom navigation is more accurate. The car’s system supports various multimedia apps such as iQiyi, Tencent Video, Huoshan Car Entertainment, QQ Music, and Ximalaya. The entire vehicle can be upgraded through OTA, achieving continuous iteration of vehicle functions throughout the vehicle’s lifecycle, keeping the car system and L2+ navigation assisted driving system “always fresh”.
Of course, the all-new long-wheelbase E-Class bursts with “amazing innovations,” not limited to the intelligent field, but also leading the industry in design and safety dimensions. Specifically tailored for Chinese customers with an extended body, it boasts a class-leading 60.76% wheelbase ratio and over 10 exclusive luxury upgrades for the rear seats, combining grandeur and luxury. The safety body developed with a global unified strategy and standard 13 airbags, including a larger exclusive side curtain airbag for Chinese long-wheelbase models, the first-time application of a passenger knee airbag and front seat central airbag in the E-Class, providing comprehensive safety protection. According to Duan Jianjun, President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Sales Service (Beijing) Co., Ltd., the E-Class also has many preventive safety techniques. Before a collision occurs, the “Buddha’s Palm” move pushes the driver away from the impact, and the “Secret Transmission” uses pink noise to reduce the damage of collision noise to the eardrum, protecting not only the present, but also preventing future harm.
The Analects says: A gentleman focuses on the foundation, on which the way of life is built. The all-new long wheelbase E-Class, with safety as its foundation, is a leap forward in luxury value. This is not just a superficial innovation, but a frantic sprint in the realm of “intelligence and luxury”, leading the way. As President and CEO of Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Service Co., Ltd., Duan Jianjun said: “The trend of the times is surging forward, and the heart of Mercedes-Benz is still surging. I hope to enjoy the high mountains and flowing water at the peak with you, and to lead the way on the great river with hundreds of boats contending.” When Mercedes-Benz is in motion, in the field of luxury intelligent travel, it is like a light boat passing through countless mountains.