The ultimate version of the first serious all-electric car from Mercedes-Benz has finally been revealed. The Mercedes-Benz EQC, an all-wheel drive electric SUV with more than 200 miles of range, was officially announced on Tuesday, nearly two years after the original concept SUV debuted at the Paris Motor Show. It was unveiled at an event in Sweden where Dieter Zetsche, the head of Mercedes-Benz, called it the “dawn of a new era” for the company. Fully known as the Mercedes-Benz EQC400 4MATIC, the EQC will go on sale in the US in 2020. Pricing has not been announced. Production will start in 2019 in Germany, and it will eventually spread to China and potentially to the company’s US plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, down the road. It will be quick, but it won’t last as long as the competition While Mercedes-Benz teased a range of around 300 miles with the concept version, the production EQC will potentially travel less than that on a full charge. Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler says it estimates the EQC will get about 280 miles per charge, but that’s based on the notoriously optimistic NEDC standards used in Europe. For comparison, the Jaguar I-Pace is rated for 300 miles with NEDC but is rated at 240 miles with the EPA in the United States. This means the EQC could wind up short of the range performance of luxury SUVs like the I-Pace or the base version of the Tesla Model X 75D (rated at 237 miles with the EPA). (Audi’s forthcoming electric E-Tron SUV is supposed to reach close to 250 miles, as is BMW’s electric iX3 SUV.) Still, it’s a huge leap from the company’s first attempts with the electric B-class and Smart Fortwo EV. Mercedes-Benz says it will be possible to charge the 80kWh battery pack from 10 percent to 80 percent in 40 minutes using DC fast chargers. (Mercedes-Benz USA initially sent out press materials that said the EQC’s estimated range was both “around” and “up to” 200 miles. A representative for the company told The Verge after publish: “Our colleagues in Stuttgart have advised us that the preliminary estimated range figure for the EQC of 200 miles for the U.S. is incorrect.”) It might be a little light on range compared to the competition, but the EQC is otherwise packed to the sunroof with features. The SUV uses Mercedes-Benz’s slick new MBUX user interface / infotainment system, which dominates the dashboard, thanks to two 10.25-inch digital displays. Heated seats, 19-inch wheels, rose gold accents, and adaptive headlights are all standard. Optional features include 64-color ambient lighting and Mercedes-Benz’s driver assistance package. The EQC will be a tick slower than the I-Pace and on par with the Model X 75D, making it from 0–60 mph in 4.9 seconds. Its top speed is also electronically limited to 112 mph. (The Model X has a limited top speed of 155 mph, while the I-Pace tops out at 124 mph.) But it otherwise sounds generally quick, with 402 horsepower coming from the two electric motors (one on each axle). Mercedes-Benz EQC vs. the competition Specs Mercedes-Benz EQC Tesla Model X 75D Jaguar I-Pace Audi E-Tron Quattro (concept) BMW iX3 Specs Mercedes-Benz EQC Tesla Model X 75D Jaguar I-Pace Audi E-Tron Quattro (concept) BMW iX3 Range Over 200 miles (est) 237 miles 240 miles 248 miles (est) 250 miles (est) 0-60mph 4.9 sec 4.9 sec 4.5 sec 4.5 sec TBA Top speed 112mph 155mph 124mph TBA TBA Battery 80kWh 75kWh 90kWh 95 kWh 70kWh Weight TBA 5,185 lbs 4,784 lbs TBA TBA Horsepower 402hp 518hp 394hp 429hp 270hp Price TBA $79,500 $69,500 TBA TBA Like most other major automakers, Mercedes-Benz (and Daimler) have committed billions of dollars toward making its cars more electric in the coming decade. The EQC is the first of an entire future lineup of EQ-branded all-electric cars. The company also already makes hybrid (dubbed EQ Boost) and plug-in hybrid (EQ Power) versions of some of its existing sedans and SUVs. The EQC, then, is Mercedes-Benz’s attempt to introduce customers to what is still a very new type of car. By the time it’s on sale, though, the competition will be fierce. In the luxury space alone, the EQC will be up against the Model X and I-Pace, as well as forthcoming electric SUVs from BMW and Audi. Porsche has an all-electric crossover car on the way, too. That’s not to mention all the other automakers playing below the luxury space who have electric SUVs and crossovers in the works, like Ford, Hyundai, and Volkswagen. With most of these companies promising more than 200 miles of range — or at least offering more as an option — Daimler is likely betting that the Mercedes-Benz brand and its reputation for luxury, as well as the company’s claimed history as the “inventor of the automobile,” will help to make up the difference. Update September 4th, 5:00PM ET: Mercedes-Benz USA says that the press materials it sent out to accompany the announcement of the EQC included incorrect information about the SUV’s estimated range. The post has been updated to reflect this. Correction: Mercedes-Benz has previously released all-electric cars.<doc-sep>The new all-electric Mercedes-Benz EQC sport utility vehicle, which will have a range of up to 200 miles, will go into production in 2019 and be available in the United States in 2020.<doc-sep>STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Mercedes showed on Tuesday how it is “aggressively” gunning for top spot in upscale battery cars market currently dominated by Tesla, as it unveiled the EQC, its first fully electric car, at an event in Stockholm. The event marks the start of the German onslaught against the American upstart and showcased a SUV with a 450 kilometer range, distinctively full-width rear light and clean-cut interiors that Mercedes hopes will find favor with luxury customers and tech-savvy millennials alike. GRAPHIC: Electric vehicles: Sales forecast - tmsnrt.rs/2PuORFo GRAPHIC: Electric vehicles: Market share tmsnrt.rs/2PvahlT Daimler aims to have up to 10 electrified car variants by 2022, a target reiterated on Tuesday by Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche, who hopes the EQC and its other electric cars will account for 15-25 percent of its sales by 2025. The Germans are now introducing their Tesla fighters as consumers are beginning to adopt electric cars on a larger scale, driven by regulations that are making their diesel-guzzling variants more expensive and electric cars becoming cheaper and easier to own. Fielding questions about whether the company could launch more variants as the electric market explodes, Zetsche said that the planned 10 electric variants would already allow Daimler to cater to 60 percent its relevant electric cars market. Slideshow ( 4 images ) “My understanding is, when we’re listening to the public and our competitors, that (our targets) are aggressive side rather than the defensive side,” he told reporters. Tesla has had virtually no competition up to now, which has allowed it to easily become the frontrunner and persuade early adopters to pay a premium for an all-electric car from a relative unknown, with no quality track-record or physical dealerships for servicing and support. But the German carmakers have a century of manufacturing behind them, with sterling brands and an existing customer base in the millions and their new variants are about to hit the market as Tesla faces questions about its ability to generate cash and manage the scaling of its production. Zetsche said on Tuesday that Tesla would be a competitor to the Germans in the electric cars market as the company had been “very successful in the price bracket they were addressing”. He said that he did not consider any of Tesla’s three current models as a direct competitor to the EQC, which was Mercedes’ first launch as SUVs have found favor with customers in recent years, with their growth outpacing other car types. He declined to say what the initial production volumes on the EQC would be, however, he stated that the ramp up of production would be relatively flat.<doc-sep>
Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz Jonathan Gitlin Mercedes-Benz Most of the traditional automakers have been slow to embrace electrification, but there's no denying that process is underway now. Mercedes-Benz is the latest automaker to unveil a new battery electric vehicle, taking the wraps off its new EQC earlier on Tuesday. The car, which was first seen as a concept two years ago at the Paris Auto Show, will enter production in 2019 and goes on sale here in the US in 2020. The exterior styling is quite similar to the GLC but with more of an emphasis on drag reduction. The inside is dominated by massive widescreen displays that serve both as the main instrument panel and the MBUX infotainment system. Mercedes-Benz described this as an "avant-garde electro-look" and called out how the dashboard and door trim are meant to remind you of a high-end amplifier. The pricing is yet to be determined, but Mercedes-Benz did release some other vital statistics. The EQC shares a wheelbase with the conventionally powered (or hybrid) GLC, but it's a little shorter, thinner, and ever-so-slightly less tall. The EQC features a pair of asynchronous motors—one for each axle—and will boast 300kW (402hp) and 564lb-ft (765Nm). Between the axles is an 80kWh lithium-ion battery pack that's good for "up to 200 miles" (321km). It can charge at up to 110kW, which will take the battery from a 10-percent state of charge to 80 percent in 40 minutes. (For you battery nerds, the 350V, 218Ah pack has 384 cells split across two modules of 48 and four modules of 72.) We hope the production car in 2020 can outperform Mercedes-Benz's range prediction; when so many consumers grade BEVs on how far they'll go on a single charge, the EQC gets fewer miles-per-kWh than logical rivals like the Jaguar I-Pace, Tesla Model X, and Audi e-tron. Listing image by Mercedes-Benz