Mercedes Files Patent For Frunk That Lifts Your Luggage Up

Nov. 11, 2022 4:56 PM ET by Martin Pretorius Electric Vehicles / 4 Comments

This cool gadget will make light work of getting things into and out of an EV's front trunk.

The hood of a Mercedes EQS SUV is currently nailed shut, but the German brand may be working on a possible solution for an ingenious new lift-out frunk.

We know this because CarBuzz unearthed a nifty new patent, registered at the USPTO, of a movable container that will fit into an EV's front cargo hold. Firstly, this tells us that Mercedes plans to make unused under-hood space available to owners. Secondly, the engineers are also working to make that space easily accessible.

The patent revolves around a container that fits snugly into the front cargo space, mounted on a hinged mechanism that lifts the container upwards, moves the box slightly over the front bumper, and tilts it forward by a few degrees when extended.

This system can be purely manual in operation, but in typical Mercedes style, the chances are that it would also be available with electric assistance as an added-cost option. Considering the price of the EQS SUV, we expect it to be standard.

This movable cargo box solves many problems at once. It elevates the front cargo hold's contents from the depths of a frunk to a more accessible height and brings the box closer to the front end of the car to reduce the chances of the owner's clothing getting soiled against a bug-smeared front bumper. It will also shield the front bumper against errant slipping suitcases and the like.

And, for those of us who appreciate intelligent packaging in a car, it will also mean that (at least some) future Mercedes-EQ cars will have a frunk, which has become the norm in the EV world.

The current lack of a frunk is a strange oversight for an EV with a skateboard design There should be plenty of usable space in front, after all, because there isn't an internal combustion engine to fill that vacant volume.

A possible explanation for this oversight is that the under-hood area in the EQS is currently packed full of EV- and comfort equipment controllers. Those things are still a bit bulky at the moment, and there are lots of gadgets to accommodate at once.