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.
