The math doesn’t add up. The 20% efficiency is on par with what’s on the Aptera. There’s no way the drag and friction on a heavy metal EV is going to be even close to that of the Aptera. Also how long does a polymer based solar panel last? Benz has overhyped concept cars in the past. I’ll believe it when I see it running in real world conditions.
@ I don’t think Aptera hyped anything. I did the math based on the solar cell specs they use and area covered. If anything they are somewhat conservative as far as their solar claims go. We should be finding out soon enough.
Mercedes-Benz press release claims 118.4 square feet of surface area on a "mid sized suv". Aptera specifies 3 square meters of solar (32 square feet). I guess if the md sized suv is parked on a mirror next to a mirrored wall the sun would hit the entire car area?
@ certainly parking next to mirror would help but it’s also not that simple. There have to be breaks between solar cell tiles since one can never get all cells to charge evenly. Significant extra electronics become required, adding to the weight of an already heavy vehicle. Complexity raises the failure rate, and like the video said we have no idea how long a polymer based solar cell will last. Such a car would weigh up to 4x of an Aptera so the relative area of Mercedes’ is about on par with Aptera. Don’t forget work=FxD. In summary that is often the issue with Benz’s forward looking press releases. Usually more hype than truth.
I'm not worried about Aptera. The reason solar panels are able to provide the range they do is because they (Aptera) have the lightest and most aerodynamic body, by far, than anything else on the road today.
The two vehicles are designed for two different use cases. Aptera is really designed for commuting - for transport of a single person that is done every day. It’s per mile efficiency is much better to address that use case. The Mercedes make more sense for toting kids around close to home or family trips. There’s room in the market for both.
Solar paint. Hmmm. So many questions!!! If the paint gets a deep scratch, does it short out the solar sheet? Ist there Arken und Sparken? Would a stone chip hitting the painted surface cause an electrical fault? Can you repair a scratch? How? Nano touch up paint? If there's a problem with the solar painted car and you touch it on a sunny day, could you get zapped getting in? How does this paint work, exactly? Is it like one huge sheet of photovoltaic material? How is that connected to battery charging circuits? Does each panel or segment of the car have its own feed? Aptera has dozens of little PV squares, each individually powered by the sun. With PV paint, there must be a way of dealing with one side of the car lit by the sun and the other side being shaded... they wouldn't just be connected together in one huge cell, would they? The paint would have to overlay some sort of mesh conductor. How robust would that be? Inquiring minds want to know!
Aptera could easily respond to this. I think their 3 wheel design is nice, but if they went for four skinny wheels and reduced power, they would likely have a lower aerodynamic drag, still plenty of performance, and possibly more range. In any case, I think Mercedes aims at a completely different market than Aptera does.
That's the reality Aptera is headed to. So far Aptera is advertising avg 17 solar miles/day in most of USA. And maybe they won't ever be able to deliver that?
On a development maturity they are not comparable, there are many challenges to overcome with the Mercedes tech, where Aptera has a proven design, that’s manufacturing process is well developed, in service who knows how a paint will perform in various conditions. Ultimately how the power is made is not relative to the vehicle’s feasibility, the point that Mercedes product are so inefficient relative to how much power they need per mile vs Aptera makes either product of little value to any Mercedes ev.
Aptera is efficient with any energy you can put in it be it solar or via a plug. More options for panels/paints is good for Aptera. No other vehicle can make as efficient of use of the solar power it has.
@ImpressiveTechView with the area and sides the Mercedes won't be getting more than 6 kwh / day (50% more than Aptera) at absolute best. Solar wattage or daily totals is conspicuously absent from the solar gain claims. To get their range claims will require efficiency substancially better than the model 3 (or an assumption of speeds well under the epa tests)
Oh my gosh! Mercedes is claiming they can make a solar car without ever making one! Only Aptera is allowed to do that! Lots of companies looking at printing solar panels, it's the future. Solar panels are just layered materials. Painting or printing them is just the next evolution. That type of R&D is well beyond anything Aptera could attempt. It's just another R&D project for Mercedes. If it is successful, it would be a nice marketing gimmick like it's been for Aptera.
@artsmith103 oh and while we're at it, what do you think the MB will be priced at? I mean, they probably won't be $40K, right? Given what othe regular MB go for. So still probably better off with an Aptera.
I get the issue with the panels vs paint but stick a small solid state battery in an Aptera with this paint technology and kiss gasoline AND plugs good bye!
There’s no way you can beat physics. Aptera vehicle has such low drag, you are not gonna produce enough power to push anything shaped even close to a conventional car with power produced via power from solar paint. Even If so…then Aptera still wins…just paint Aptera with the same paint and you have Mercedes beat.
How many miles per kWh? I believe that Aptera wins. Aptera has a comparably larger cargo space per passenger. Aptera is a sporster as compatible a sedan.
Not meaningful unless the MB will be as efficient as the Aptera in daily driving. MB will still need to rely on plug-in charging if driving more than 10 miles/day.
if solar paint was so great it would compete with solar panels, count the negative comments toward aptera vs benz, is there disclosure that benz does not sponsor this vid.
I have the 600mile range Aptera on reserve. The paint will have an advantage simply because you have more surface area to absort the sun over the entire body. I need to see how the paint wires into the charging system. It may be possible to retro this onto the Aptera.
@@EarthCreature. look at his channel he has all anti-aptera videos, with only 200 subscribers, and I think he must be threatened by aptera but aptera is not threatened by him
The math doesn’t add up. The 20% efficiency is on par with what’s on the Aptera. There’s no way the drag and friction on a heavy metal EV is going to be even close to that of the Aptera. Also how long does a polymer based solar panel last? Benz has overhyped concept cars in the past. I’ll believe it when I see it running in real world conditions.
Aptera has overhyped big time. BTW, the 20% efficiency is cell to battery, same as for the Maxeon cells on Aptera.
@ I don’t think Aptera hyped anything. I did the math based on the solar cell specs they use and area covered. If anything they are somewhat conservative as far as their solar claims go. We should be finding out soon enough.
Mercedes-Benz press release claims 118.4 square feet of surface area on a "mid sized suv". Aptera specifies 3 square meters of solar (32 square feet). I guess if the md sized suv is parked on a mirror next to a mirrored wall the sun would hit the entire car area?
@ certainly parking next to mirror would help but it’s also not that simple. There have to be breaks between solar cell tiles since one can never get all cells to charge evenly. Significant extra electronics become required, adding to the weight of an already heavy vehicle. Complexity raises the failure rate, and like the video said we have no idea how long a polymer based solar cell will last. Such a car would weigh up to 4x of an Aptera so the relative area of Mercedes’ is about on par with Aptera. Don’t forget work=FxD. In summary that is often the issue with Benz’s forward looking press releases. Usually more hype than truth.
@@greghelton4668 If you find out it goes half the distance will you re-do the math? lol.
What Miles per Kwh figure is the 20,000 miles based on? Also what's the projected cost and time to market quoted?
Kilometers?
yea watch it come out in 40 years from now if ever. If it comes out then sure aptera can apply it even more and get much more range
Vapourware deposition technology applied to a vapourmobile.
Hmmm?
I'm not worried about Aptera. The reason solar panels are able to provide the range they do is because they (Aptera) have the lightest and most aerodynamic body, by far, than anything else on the road today.
At what rate does the paint degrade? How efficient is the paint in the way of kilowatts per hour? Aptera’s are designed to last 10 years.
Will look into that soon.
Thanks for asking!
At what point do the solar panels degrade? Their first attempt was dropped after about 3 months. No news since.
PRICE!
The two vehicles are designed for two different use cases. Aptera is really designed for commuting - for transport of a single person that is done every day. It’s per mile efficiency is much better to address that use case. The Mercedes make more sense for toting kids around close to home or family trips. There’s room in the market for both.
Solar paint. Hmmm. So many questions!!!
If the paint gets a deep scratch, does it short out the solar sheet? Ist there Arken und Sparken? Would a stone chip hitting the painted surface cause an electrical fault?
Can you repair a scratch? How? Nano touch up paint?
If there's a problem with the solar painted car and you touch it on a sunny day, could you get zapped getting in?
How does this paint work, exactly? Is it like one huge sheet of photovoltaic material? How is that connected to battery charging circuits? Does each panel or segment of the car have its own feed?
Aptera has dozens of little PV squares, each individually powered by the sun. With PV paint, there must be a way of dealing with one side of the car lit by the sun and the other side being shaded... they wouldn't just be connected together in one huge cell, would they? The paint would have to overlay some sort of mesh conductor. How robust would that be?
Inquiring minds want to know!
Have they demonstrated a single Watt of production yet?
Now if they can make this into a wrap fabric that would make it perfect for the Aptera to use.
I’d say that more likely, but the application on the mass production level certainly involves more workmanship that a mechanical fitting panel.
Solar paint sounds great but you need to keep from getting scratches and dents and keep car extra clean
Yeah, but better tech can curb those limitations
Aptera could easily respond to this. I think their 3 wheel design is nice, but if they went for four skinny wheels and reduced power, they would likely have a lower aerodynamic drag, still plenty of performance, and possibly more range. In any case, I think Mercedes aims at a completely different market than Aptera does.
Lo!
What about repairs such as a fender bender, scratches, will it still work; and then including the aerodynamics the math doesn't add up.
20 kilometers = 12.42 miles
Yeah,
That's the reality Aptera is headed to. So far Aptera is advertising avg 17 solar miles/day in most of USA. And maybe they won't ever be able to deliver that?
Your Mercedes Logo is rotated to the right by a few degrees (on main TH-cam hook photo)
Thanks, I notice the rotation
On a development maturity they are not comparable, there are many challenges to overcome with the Mercedes tech, where Aptera has a proven design, that’s manufacturing process is well developed, in service who knows how a paint will perform in various conditions. Ultimately how the power is made is not relative to the vehicle’s feasibility, the point that Mercedes product are so inefficient relative to how much power they need per mile vs Aptera makes either product of little value to any Mercedes ev.
Lo! Aptera jsit need enough funds to speed up production
Aptera is efficient with any energy you can put in it be it solar or via a plug. More options for panels/paints is good for Aptera. No other vehicle can make as efficient of use of the solar power it has.
Lo! You have a point there!
It doesn't exist - fake prototypes don't count.
@ImpressiveTechView with the area and sides the Mercedes won't be getting more than 6 kwh / day (50% more than Aptera) at absolute best. Solar wattage or daily totals is conspicuously absent from the solar gain claims. To get their range claims will require efficiency substancially better than the model 3 (or an assumption of speeds well under the epa tests)
@@ccibinel You are now comparing a fake prototype against a prototype that you are probably never going to see built. Why bother?
Oh my gosh! Mercedes is claiming they can make a solar car without ever making one! Only Aptera is allowed to do that!
Lots of companies looking at printing solar panels, it's the future. Solar panels are just layered materials. Painting or printing them is just the next evolution. That type of R&D is well beyond anything Aptera could attempt.
It's just another R&D project for Mercedes. If it is successful, it would be a nice marketing gimmick like it's been for Aptera.
Sounds like some people are getting nervous about potential Aptera market share, Hmmm
Exactly. Aptera for a fact will take over the market. We know as we are superfans and we know the facts.
Cost, drag coefficient,rad looks. = Aptera for the win.
Lo!
Mercedes = Aptera loses.
@@aussieideasman8498 no aptera wins Aptera is the most efficient vehicle ever created and ever able to be created
@@aussieideasman8498 Get help, lady.
@ nope because they won’t be for all paint is a joke.
I'll have to look into it but will the whole body be carrying a charge? And a MB isn't going to come anywhere near the price of the Aptera.
What is current Aptera LE price?
@artsmith103 Projected price is $35K.
@artboymoy Aptera detailed price to USCG and it was at least $40K. Their mid 30 claims are lies. I was checking how closely you're listening.
@@artsmith103 LOL! Ooo. Ya got me, I guess. Weird flex, but good on you and I hope it gets you through the day!
@artsmith103 oh and while we're at it, what do you think the MB will be priced at? I mean, they probably won't be $40K, right? Given what othe regular MB go for. So still probably better off with an Aptera.
"Mercedes-Benz hopes to roll out the technology by 2040." In 15 years Aptera will also have more advanced Technology.
Lo! Possible
I get the issue with the panels vs paint but stick a small solid state battery in an Aptera with this paint technology and kiss gasoline AND plugs good bye!
@stuwilliams3035
Nice Idea!
With Mercedes paint and Chery Solid state batteries, I see a perpetual motion machine that only costs $10K.
Will I door dent ruin its ability to charge
Could be years away.. MB Is not known for 35 thousand dollar cars.
There’s no way you can beat physics.
Aptera vehicle has such low drag, you are not gonna produce enough power to push anything shaped even close to a conventional car with power produced via power from solar paint.
Even If so…then Aptera still wins…just paint Aptera with the same paint and you have Mercedes beat.
How many miles per kWh? I believe that Aptera wins. Aptera has a comparably larger cargo space per passenger. Aptera is a sporster as compatible a sedan.
Yeah, Aptera Has a larger Space
Mercedes to cost 3x the price or more of an aptera.
Aptera hasn't put its designs into marketable production thus far.
Hopefully 2025
Not meaningful unless the MB will be as efficient as the Aptera in daily driving. MB will still need to rely on plug-in charging if driving more than 10 miles/day.
if solar paint was so great it would compete with solar panels, count the negative comments toward aptera vs benz, is there disclosure that benz does not sponsor this vid.
This is a lab level tech. 10 year or more off if it ever gets made at all. It’s nothing that will be implemented anytime soon.
Not worried... screw mercedes
Hmmm 🤔
I have the 600mile range Aptera on reserve. The paint will have an advantage simply because you have more surface area to absort the sun over the entire body. I need to see how the paint wires into the charging system. It may be possible to retro this onto the Aptera.
It's far too expensive overall so it won't be a threat
Never happen, dude. MB will be bankrupt by 2035.
I don't trust Mercedes sry
Oh, why?
B.S.
Drive Aptera and you're on a hot seat. More rubbish.
You can't stop embarrassing yourself 🤣
@@EarthCreature. No, that australian embarrassment can keep going. And it will.
Worms are worms.
@@EarthCreature. You still can't find a brain.
@@EarthCreature. look at his channel he has all anti-aptera videos, with only 200 subscribers, and I think he must be threatened by aptera but aptera is not threatened by him
Speculation is one thing that is altered by human use