The Paris Motor Show last week witnessed a strong new entry into the electric vehicle market, which gave Tesla plenty of reason to worry about its growing list of technically strong and delivering competitors. Mercedes-Benz unveiled its electric crossover concept car, the Generation EQ Concept. Based on reports by Fortune magazine, although concept cars are typically designed to show where the automaker is headed, the concept may not always be coherent with the exact path that the company takes. The EQ Concept, on the other hand, is very close to what Mercedes may end up producing for its customers. The German automaker, owned by Daimler, describes this as a “close-to-production” concept vehicle that will be a precursor to a range of electric products that will hit the road. Recent news from the Paris Motor show revealed that the Mercedes-Benz crossover can travel up to 312 miles on a single charge. The car is equipped with a few autonomous features, too. Its makers claim that it can adjust speed and driving dynamics automatically when approaching curves. Many of the conventional features of today’s cars are cleverly concealed visually.
Windshield wipers are not visible to the nonchalant eye and the exterior mirrors are replaced with cameras that project crystal-clear images of the traffic behind the car onto displays that are fitted on the doors. Besides these features, the humble door handles seem to be done away with. Business Insider reports that Daimler’s chief development officer, Thomas Weber, said in May that Mercedes-Benz was aiming to add four new electric cars to its model range by 2020. “I am eager to know how Elon Musk will respond to this new development. He definitely has a tough competitor in Mercedes and the German giant can potentially surpass him in the EV market,” said Lathika Varanasi, PhD candidate in environmental engineering at Michigan Tech.
Jay Ramey from MarketWatch reports that the production version will offer two charging options; inductive charging or traditional wall box charging. These two options will be available in addition to fast-charging capability that yields a range of 62 miles at a planned level 300 kW in under five minutes. Dr. Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars said, “In 2007, the e-smart was a pioneer of electric motoring.
We’re now flipping the switch. We’re ready for the launch of an electric product offensive that will cover all vehicle segments, from the compact to luxury class.” This statement by the CEO could make Tesla, the current leader in technology and production of EVs, very nervous. Based on reports by Business Insider, the electric vehicle will fall in the same price range as the Mercedes-Benz GLC Crossover, which currently starts at $39,150 and unlike Tesla’s affordable compact model, Mercedes’ EQ is an SUV.
Business Insider’s Matt Debord recently called attention to the fact that interest in small cars is waning. Consumer-oriented auto site, Edmunds, too, was of the opinion that it is a great time to buy smaller cars at used-car shops simply because there is much less demand for smaller vehicles and much more for trucks and SUVs. Autodata, a firm dealing with automotive sales, backed this fact with its numbers this August. Passenger car sales fell over 125 percent in the month of August, while truck and SUV sales rose by approximately two percent. Although more close-quarters, these numbers look optimistic for an SUV driven EV market, although it should be noted that Electric Vehicles are yet to have their time in the global automotive spotlight. These cars make up less than 1 percent of global auto sales.
The reveal of a concept car by Mercedes could be a watershed moment. The fact that the first wagon-like concept of the Mercedes lineup takes the form of a crossover is ominous for the EV market and of course, Tesla. Tesla is offered some breathing space in the form of its Model X SUV. But this car comes with a huge price tag of $80,000 and therefore puts it firmly in the luxury car market, perfectly out of reach of the general populace. Tasauf Turzo is a second year electrical engineering student at Tech, with a keen interest in electric vehicles. “Electric cars haven’t gained much traction yet, so it makes complete sense that Mercedes-Benz is trying to corner the market by investing and conceptualizing an SUV electric vehicle,” said Turzo. “This will at least give potential customers a semblance of what they want to buy, even if they are not too keen on buying an environmentally friendly, yet expensive, electric vehicle.” Chugging along the same lines are Chevy, which plans to release its Bolt by 2016. Audi and Hyundai both plan to make a dent in the market by late 2018. Volkswagen, after its diesel scandal, has plans in the pipeline to roll out five EVs by 2020. Tesla, with currently no answer to the EQ concept car, will be working to ramp up its Model Y.
