A big electric luxury sedan over €100,000 that, after only a few years, might already be heading for the crusher: the scenario may sound extreme, but it is real. In Croatia, an electric-vehicle specialist received a Mercedes EQS 450+ whose high‑voltage battery failed after roughly 300,000 kilometers (about 186,000 miles).
In Sweden, the reports talk in terms of “30,000 mil,” i.e., 30,000 times 10 kilometers, which comes out to almost 300,000 kilometers. At that mileage, the first-generation CATL battery pack in this Croatian EQS shows clear signs of fatigue, to the point that the workshop contemplated a full replacement. And here comes the twist: it is no longer possible to order a new pack from Mercedes; only a refurbished battery is available, priced as if it were the cost of a small new car, which changes everything for this Mercedes EQS even though it is roughly four to five years old.
At EV Clinic, a Mercedes EQS 450+ with 300,000 km on the clock and a battery nearing the end of life
The car in question is a Mercedes EQS 450+, the electric flagship launched in 2021 as an electric alternative to the internal-combustion S-Class. At the time, this large sedan carried a price tag well above one million Swedish kronor when new, with a CATL-supplied battery. This pack has a gross capacity of 111.8 kWh, of which 107.8 kWh are usable, for a weight near 700 kg and an official range of about 700 km under favorable conditions. There are no specifics given about how this heavily milaged unit has been used.
Arriving at the Croatian workshop EV Clinic, the car shows around 300,000 km on the odometer. Technicians noted that several cells are damaged and discharge at different rates, creating a pronounced imbalance in the pack. According to them, the battery is approaching the end of its life, and the problem isn’t limited to a single easily replaceable cell. Repair by simply swapping a module does not appear realistic. EV Clinic explains that it is working on a method to diagnose and repair this type of battery, but for this particular case a full replacement remains on the table. It’s also worth noting that, according to the manufacturer’s documentation, the battery warranty for the EQS covers up to 10 years or 250,000 km, which places this unit well beyond the cap.
A Mercedes EQS battery priced at €45,000 to €55,000 that threatens to send the car to the scrap yard
It’s while researching the cost of a replacement that the workshop got a reality check. According to EV Clinic, you can no longer order a new pack identical to this first-generation battery, as Mercedes has evolved the EQS’s technology with capacities later increased to 118 kWh and then 122 kWh. The workshop was offered a refurbished pack in exchange. “Mercedes no longer offers any new batteries, and a refurbished battery costs about €45,000 to €55,000, which is ridiculously expensive,” EV Clinic wrote in a LinkedIn post. For a large electric sedan that has already logged 300,000 km, such an invoice could exceed or approach its current value, making the repair economically questionable.
The risk, as Swedish press coverage noted, is simple: the repair could become more expensive than the car itself, to the point of sending it to the shredder even though it is only about four to five years old. EV Clinic nonetheless points to a cheaper path, with used batteries available for this reference. “Used batteries cost between €7,000 and €14,000”, EV Clinic writes, noting that additional costs for transport, labor, and possible adaptations would still apply. The case remains open, the car not yet definitively destined for the junkyard. But it already illustrates the fragility of a model where a single component—the high‑voltage battery—can decide the fate of a modern EV, whereas a gasoline-powered car can often stay in service for a long time thanks to used or remanufactured parts. Automobile lawyer Bo Ericsson, cited by CarUp, even argues that more batteries should be repaired by swapping out components rather than exchanging the entire pack, a direction already being explored by specialists like EV Clinic.
