The Mercedes EQC will join the likes of Jaguar I-Pace, Porsche Taycan and Audi e-tron to encroach on a space mainly dominated by Tesla even as the Model 3 struggles to hit production targets and earn profits
At a time when Tesla is leading the charge in battery powered vehicles, luxury car-maker Mercedes-Benz unveiled their first all-electric SUV, the EQC, at an event in Stockholm.
Speaking at the launch, Dieter Zetsche, Chief Executive Officer at Daimler, said, "There is no alternative to betting on electric cars and we are going all in."A 10 billion euro investment was to be made in the electric vehicle push, but Daimler has spent more than that," Zetsche said.
The Mercedes EQC will join the likes of Jaguar I-Pace, Porsche Taycan and Audi e-tron to encroach on a space mainly dominated by Tesla even as the Model 3 struggles to hit production targets and make profits. The SUV will go into production sometime in the second half of 2019 at the company's factory in Bremen, Germany.
The car gets 407 PS of power and 765 Nm of torque coming from two electric motors, one on each axle, accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.1 seconds. Top speed is electronically limited to 180 km/h (112 mph).
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The interiors get a futuristic feel with rose gold cabin accents. Two 10.3-inch screens, part of the MBUX infotainment system, dominates the dashboard with a host of features including voice control.
The Mercedes EQC SUV is the first in a list of 10 electric vehicles planned by Mercedes-Benz to be available before 2022. Pricing figures for the EQC have not been announced, but sales are expected to start sometime in 2020. At the launch, it will compete directly with the Tesla Model X apart from the Taycan, I-Pace and e-tron.