Mercedes begins its electric car assault

Mercedes’ brave new world of “electromobility” is headed by the EQC, a less than propitious name for what is a C-class-sized, SUV-proportioned, all-wheel drive five-door that will be heading for a showroom near you soon.

You are unlikely to miss it. It’s battery-powered and boasts what Mercedes calls the “electro look” – high gloss black grille, strips of fibre optic lights and plenty of flashes of blue, including blue wheel spokes.

Despite the distinctive new front end and cool blue aesthetic, these first pictures confirm the EQC to be a relatively conventional looking car of the currently popular fastback cod-SUV type. As a high-rider with a bespoke platform, batteries under the floor and electric motors front and rear, it follows the recipe pioneered among premium cars by the Jaguar I-Pace and (to be unveiled in two weeks’ time) the Audi e-tron as they all chase down Tesla. Europe’s assault on the premium electric car landscape is about to get serious.

Hype aside, what’s the appeal of the EQC? Daimler is calling it the “Mercedes-Benz among electric vehicles” and that does suggest an intelligence and attention to detail above and beyond what electric cars already offer, and first indications are the EQC delivers in spades.

There are multitudinous safety-assist functions, convenience features and information technologies – as well as a rose-gold accented take on the brand’s “progressive luxury” interior design. The message? It’s a Mercedes but not as know it…

Here is a car that need never be cold and iced-up on a frosty morning (thanks to “pre-climatisation”); an electric car that can tow an 1800kg braked trailer; a car where you use the paddles to adjust the amount of energy recuperation, all the way to “one-pedal” motoring if you desire it; a car whose navigation will find a charging station when you need it. 

And here is a car that, perhaps most cleverly of all, is being assembled alongside other C-class models, despite having such radically different architecture, enabling Mercedes to shift production from petrol and diesel to electric as demand increases.

Less impressively, here is a car that is distinctly on the slow and porky side. According to Mercedes figures, the EQC weighs in at 2425kg, a whopping 650kg of which is the batteries alone. We have no weight yet for the Audi e-tron but 2425kg is 300kg heavier than the Jaguar I-Pace.

As for top speed, electric cars always have governed v-max but at 180km/h – 112mph – the Mercedes EQC’s does seem low; Audi and Jag plump for 124mph. Mercedes makes scant mention of EQC aerodynamics – an area that the Audi e-tron will major on. The EQC is certainly not underpowered. The 80kWh battery pack feeds 402 brake horsepower’s worth of electric motors and acceleration is as sharp as you’d expect: 0-62mph in just 5.1 seconds.

What else can we tell from the figures so far released? At 4761mm, the EQC is just a couple of inches longer than a C-class estate but quite a lot taller. There’s a 500-litre boot. The car comes with a home AC charger, for overnight replenishing, while using a Mercedes Wallbox is three times faster; an optional DC charging system is faster still with a claimed 80 per cent charge in 40 minutes. 

Range? Treat Mercedes’ 400km (248-mile) “provisional” number with caution because it is to the old NEDC standard whereas Jaguar and Audi have already made the switch to the new WLTP test, which is more real-world. But it’s all a bit academic; these new electric cars must prove themselves in the actual real world. 

The big missing figure is a confirmed price. We’ll guess that it starts with a six.

That will make it a big number but then big numbers characterise the whole EQ project. EQC is just the start. EQA, EQB, EQE, EQG, EQS…over the coming years ”electromobility” will be transforming the smallest to the largest Mercedes, as well of course as going racing: Merc’s two-car Formula E challenge begins with the 2019/20 season. So not just a new model, more a “symbol of a new era in mobility” as Mercedes puts it.

All of which will eat into Daimler AG’s coffers to the tune of an incredible €10 billion, plus another billion put aside for battery development. “With the EQC we are flipping the switch. Electric drive is a major component in the mobility of the future,” said Daimler chief Dieter Zetsche.

The electric car has truly arrived.