Yes, this all new Mercedes Benz SUV that is electric driven and a Tesla rival will sell from just RM320,000 before delivery and local taxes are added on. This makes it as expensive as a petrol driven Mercedes GLC SUV if the Malaysian government decides to do away with car AP’s and import taxes for pure electric vehicles. Pipe dream? Maybe!
What Is The Range?
With its seamless, clean design and colour highlights typical of the brand, the Mercedes-Benz EQC is a pioneer for an avant-garde electric look while representing the design idiom of Progressive Luxury. In combination with the extensive services and a range of 445 – 471 km (NEDC), it makes electric mobility convenient and suitable for everyday use. The charismatic EQC impresses with the sum of its attributes.
With its effortlessly superior driving impression, high level of acoustic comfort and exciting driving dynamics, the EQC displays all the brand’s hallmark attributes – the Mercedes of electric vehicles.
How Much?
Prices for the Mercedes-Benz EQC start at €71,281 (including VAT and local European delivery costs) for the already generously equipped base version. Its net basic price of less than €60,000 (for export before delivery and taxes) makes it eligible for an environmental bonus in Germany – regardless of individual equipment.
Start of production?
The first EQC has just rolled off the production line at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Bremen. There it is being produced on the same line as the C-Class Saloon and Estate as well as the GLC and GLC Coupé – digitally, flexibly and sustainably. Production of vehicles with various drive systems can be adapted variably and efficiently in line with market demand. This approach is an ideal way to ensure the best possible use of capacity at the plant, and guarantee high Mercedes-Benz production and quality standards.
Digital solutions such as sophisticated mobile devices, driverless transport systems and the ‘paperless factory’ assist the assembly team. Production staff are irreplaceable, even in the age of electric mobility. The use of Big Data and artificial intelligence assists with predictive maintenance, for example. This means the fact that the company made investments in maximum flexibility and hi-tech equipment offering trend-setting Industry 4.0 solutions at an early stage is paying off.
When the body, suspension and powertrain come together in automobile assembly, this is referred to as the “marriage” – in the case of the EQC this is when the two powerpacks are installed in the body. One major innovation is the so-called battery joining centre. The second “marriage” takes place here: This is where the EQCs are recognised as electric models with the help of data tags attached to the body, and equipped with a battery. The body is suspended from a carrier and deposited on a frame. Support arms raise the battery to the vehicle’s floor from below. An employee monitors the automatic bolting in place.
Battery production network
Alongside Bremen, the Sino-German production joint venture Beijing Benz Automotive Co. Ltd. (BBAC) will start production of the EQC this year – for the local market in China. As it does for the C-Class and the GLC, Bremen acts as the centre of competence for production of the EQC in other locations. BBAC is part of the global production network of Mercedes-Benz Cars. Other production locations for future Mercedes-Benz EQ models are the Mercedes-Benz plants in Rastatt (Germany), Sindelfingen (Germany), Tuscaloosa (USA) and Hambach (France).
The batteries for EQC production in Bremen are produced by wholly owned Daimler subsidiary Accumotive at its site in Kamenz (near Dresden) and delivered partly charged. These batteries are kept near the production line and then delivered to the line flexibly on demand using driverless transport systems. Local battery production is a major success factor in the electric initiative of Mercedes-Benz Cars. The production network for the mobility of the future is well positioned.
