The launch of the EQC crossover is an attempt by Mercedes-Benz to move more established automakers to challenge the dominance of American electric car maker Tesla, according to Reuters.
The Mercedes EQC crossover is expected to go into production in the first half of 2019, Daimler AG Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche told reporters in Stockholm before the car’s unveiling. The EQC is part of the car company’s plan to develop a full range of EQ electric vehicles.
Zetsche added that the original plan had been to invest 0 billion euros ($12 billion) on the EQC project, but the project is “more than that,” he said Tuesday, without specifying figures.
Daimler-owned Mercedes, BMW, and Volkswagen’s Audi and Porsche divisions are all looking to break in on Elon Musk’s Tesla. On Monday, Audi began mass production of its e-tron, the brand’s first totally electric sports utility vehicle (SUV).
The E-tron will officially be unveiled in San Francisco, California on September 19, 2018. The car joins the Porsche Taycan and Jaguar I-Pace in putting pressure on Tesla as the California-based carmaker struggles to ramp up the Model 3 and make a profit.
Mercedes plans to build the EQC at its factory in Bremen, where the automaker also makes its best-selling C-Class sedan. Daimler also will build the EQC in China for the local market. Daimler plans to offer 10 fully electric cars by 2022, abandoning combustion-engine run vehicles.
To show how serious the company is on its shift to EVs, Mercedes will spend 1 billion euros on battery production to create a network of eight facilities globally. Daimler expects demand for battery-powered vehicles to eat into sales of more profitable conventional cars rather than lure new customers, Zetsche said Tuesday.
A number of businesses have recently invested in the electric vehicle sector, including oil giant BP. The company entered into an agreement earlier this summer to purchase EV charging business Chargemaster.
In August, global energy and services business Centrica invested in Israeli start-up Driivz, which specializes in end-to-end software solutions for electric EV charging.
Mercedes launch of the EQC in Stockholm features yoga in an undisguised appeal to the millennial crowd who have been flocking to Tesla.
“While Tesla currently has a strong hold on the luxury electric market, I don’t think this will be the case after the arrival of the German premium offerings,” said Wajih Hossenally, an automotive powertrain analyst with IHS Markit. “Tesla has virtually zero competition – but this will change from 2019 onwards.”
