Mercedes Debuts EQC Electric Crossover

Mercedes-Benz debuted its EQC electric crossover Tuesday in Stockholm.

Daimler AG Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche told reporters at the event that the company has spent more than $12 billion on its electric car push.

“There is no alternative to betting on electric cars, and we’re going all in,” Zetsche said, according to Bloomberg. “It is starting right now.”

The EQC has nice sporty lines, definitely a familiar small Mercedes-Benz SUV look. It’s planned to reach its first customers next year, and pricing is expected to be in the same ballpark as the gas-powered Mercedes GLC and Tesla’s $49,000 Model 3.

Mercedes EQC Specs:



402 horsepower and 564 lb-ft from a pair of asynchronous motors and an 80 kWh li-ion battery

Range: up to 200 miles

187.4″ (L) x 82.5″ (W-including mirrors) x 63.9″ H; 113.1″ wheelbase

Curb weight: N/A

MPGe: N/A

DC fast-charging time, 110 kW, 10-80 percent: 40 minutes (wall-charging time: N/A)

0-60 mph: 4.9 seconds



The car is part of a growing list of challengers to Tesla, including the Porsche Taycan, Audi E-tron and Jaguar I-Pace. Read more about Tesla’s EV competition in 2019 here.

 

[tonybelding]

I had low expectations for this vehicle, and Mercedes met them.

In terms of efficiency, it has a larger capacity battery than the Tesla Model X yet substantially less range.

No frunk. Instead there's a bay full of electronics with a fake engine cover.

Styling… Is a matter of taste, but to me this does nothing. Also, the huge Mercedes grille and badge in front is obnoxious.

 

[Nilnoc]

No frunk. Instead there's a bay full of electronics with a fake engine cover.

And they cleverly concealed the chargeport behind the gas filler door.

Styling… Is a matter of taste, but to me this does nothing.

To me the front end says, “Nissan Rogue”

 

[Nilnoc]

No frunk. Instead there's a bay full of electronics with a fake engine cover.

And they cleverly concealed the chargeport behind the gas filler door.

Styling… Is a matter of taste, but to me this does nothing.

To me the front end says, “Nissan Rogue”

 

[VT_EE]

200 mile range EV on an 80kWh battery = turd.

 

[nikepete]

Only 200 mile ? Usually you don't charge to 100% and you don't empty to 0%, so the real range is 90% to 20% or 180 mile to 40 mile. Without superchargers, you can only make 70 mile trip. With traffic jams and A/C this car won't make it across the Los Angeles Metro.

 

[jgs]

My favorite part of the Bloomberg story was the buried lede:

“Daimler doesn’t plan to establish a dedicated electric assembly plant and will instead build the vehicles at the same sites as conventional automobiles to be able to better adjust output, Zetsche said, adding that he expects demand to mainly eat into sales of combustion cars rather than lure new customers.”

They expect to cannibalize their own ICE sales. At least they know the whole “Tesla killer” thing is just smoke.

 

[narayan]

It will probably keep the Mercedes die-hards happy. Not impressive at all. Looks like more of a compliance car effort.

 

[tonybelding]

And they cleverly concealed the chargeport behind the gas filler door.

To be fair, that's also where it's located on my Roadster.

 

[EVMeister]

If you just read things on the EQC on mainstream media websites like the BBC, you get such a false impression:

Mercedes takes on Tesla with electric SUV

"Mercedes takes on Tesla" in the headline... More like takes on the load of ICE CUVs out there.

"The subsidiary of Daimler says the EQC, which has two electric motors, will have a range of more than 450km." With no mention of the fact that is an increadible misleading NEDC range.

Come on BBC, aren't you better than that?

 

[Valore]

My favorite part of the Bloomberg story was the buried lede:

“Daimler doesn’t plan to establish a dedicated electric assembly plant and will instead build the vehicles at the same sites as conventional automobiles to be able to better adjust output, Zetsche said, adding that he expects demand to mainly eat into sales of combustion cars rather than lure new customers.”

They expect to cannibalize their own ICE sales. At least they know the whole “Tesla killer” thing is just smoke.

The cool thing about this is though that they have 6 plants ready worldwide to make EV this way.

"They say they have 6 plants that can already support electric models and the EQC wants first start production in Bremen, Germany, where the German automaker produces its C-Class and GLC vehicles."

 

[dpeilow]

"The subsidiary of Daimler says the EQC, which has two electric motors, will have a range of more than 450km." With no mention of the fact that is an increadible misleading NEDC range.

If they are quoting NEDC now, it is illegal.

Come on BBC, aren't you better than that?

No.

 

[dpeilow]

Just read the curb weight of this thing is 2425 kg as well. It's not just a turd, it's a heavy, inefficient turd.

 

[tonybelding]

From CNET ROADSHOW:

Robert Lesnik, exterior designer for EQC, said the nose styling is as it is "because the car needs a face." He said the EQC would look "unnatural" without some kind of grille, even though one isn't strictly needed for cooling.

No, Mr. Lesnik. It's a vehicle, not a clown. It's for moving you from point A to point B. The nose of the car is pushing through the air; it needs to be aerodynamic. It does not need a face.

 

[Joe F]

And just look at the lines of ardent Mercedes Benz customers that lined up at dealerships worldwide to plunk down their deposits, honored to be first in line when the EQC stumbles off the assembly line! It's an amazing spectacle to behold.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

I had low expectations for this vehicle, and Mercedes met them.

In terms of efficiency, it has a larger capacity battery than the Tesla Model X yet substantially less range.

People don't care about efficiency, and Mercedes owners particularly won't care.

Range does matter here, but efficiency, no. They'll be able to sell out with the range it has.

No frunk. Instead there's a bay full of electronics with a fake engine cover.

Styling… Is a matter of taste, but to me this does nothing. Also, the huge Mercedes grille and badge in front is obnoxious.

Welcome to the new world order, where China's conspicuous consumption means that gauche is the new design aesthetic.

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

you beat me to it, I wanted to use the title

"Legacy car maker builds EV for sole purpose of selling more oil burners".

 

[tonybelding]

Found this tidbit on Transport Evolved:

If the car detects someone in front, it dials up the regenerative braking, especially if the vehicle in front is slowing down. If it detects a stop light or stop sign, it does the same thing, but if it's a nice rolling hill and there's nobody around, it adjusts to less aggressive regenerative braking or perhaps even coasting mode on lift-off.

When I lift off the accelerator, I want the response to be perfectly predictable and consistent. I don't want to second-guess its "smart" behavior. To be fair, this seems to be only one of several regen modes that the EQC will offer, and you'll be able to switch off the "smart" stuff. However, even the idea of having different regen modes is questionable to me. Why not just tune it to work well from the factory and leave it at that?

Oh, and she also mentioned that the EQC will have paddles to control the regen. I detest paddles. As I've already learned from my Jeep, they're just things for me to bump by accident when I'm making a turn.

 

[jgs]

From CNET ROADSHOW:



No, Mr. Lesnik. It's a vehicle, not a clown. It's for moving you from point A to point B. The nose of the car is pushing through the air; it needs to be aerodynamic. It does not need a face.

Right? Why doesn't he also put running boards on it, and wood panels on the sides?

 

[Eno Deb]

Where does the 200 mile range number come from? Mercedes says "more than 450 km according to NEDC (provisional figure)", which probably just means they haven't run it through the WLTP cycle yet (lots of European manufacturers currently have problems running their vehicles through that test).

Another interesting question is the price. If the European price is around 80,000 EUR as rumored that would be substantially cheaper than the Model X 75D which starts at 95,830 EUR in Germany (these prices include VAT as usual in Europe, so they are not directly comparable to US prices).

In terms of design, personally I think this looks better than the Model X (which always had weird proportions to my eye). But I'm not a big fan of SUVs/CUVs in general and think they all look clumsy.