Mercedes-Benz EQC electric SUV revealed

Mercedes-Benz has revealed its first electric SUV to a worldwide audience at an advanced technology festival in Stockholm, Sweden.

The ground-breaking new vehicle is named the Mercedes-Benz EQC in acknowledgement of its 'C-Class' footprint and its secondary branding – EQ ('Electric Intelligence'), which will rival BMW's i brand.

When it arrives in Australia next year, the EQC will go gunning for the Jaguar I-PACE, which will cost $119,000 when it arrives in November, and the Audi e-tron that’s also earmarked for local release in 2019.

A product of several million kilometres of testing conducted around the world, the Mercedes-Benz EQC will be built in the same factory at Bremen where both the C-Class passenger-car range and the conventional GLC model are built. Production will commence next year.

In due course, the EQC will be followed by an all-electric passenger car, the EQA, which will be around the same size as the A-Class, as the name indicates.

The manufacturer claims a range for the Mercedes-Benz EQC of up to 450km and potential total output of 300kW and 765Nm from two asynchronous electric motors – one driving each axle in an all-wheel drive configuration like Tesla's dual-motor set-up.

While the rear motor produces more thrust for activities such as towing (with a capacity of up to 1800kg), the front motor is designed for efficient energy use, the company says.

Power consumption is said to be 22.2kWh/100km and the EQC's range can be optimised through a customisable energy recovery system that scavenges more or less braking energy when the driver selects different modes using the vehicle's 'shift' paddles.

A Benz subsidiary, Accumotive, supplies the 80kWh lithium-ion battery pack for the Mercedes-Benz EQC, which is fitted with a 7.4kW water-cooled onboard charger for charging directly from domestic powerpoints.

A Mercedes Wallbox will recharge the EQC three times faster, however, and DC charging is faster still – at a rate of up to 110kW. Recharging from 10 to 80 per cent of battery capacity could take as little as 40 minutes.

Five different drive modes are available: Comfort, Eco, Max Range, Sport and Individual. The Individual mode can be tailored to suit different preferences.

Driver-assist technology includes Active Distance Assist Distronic to reduce the speed to around 100km/h when the system observes traffic slowing to a crawl on a freeway.

Additionally, the lane guidance system moves the vehicle to the side of the lane in order to make way for emergency services vehicles.

Dimensions for the EQC measure 4.8m long, 1.9m wide, 1.6m high, and the SUV rides on a wheelbase of 2.8m. Boot space is estimated at 500 litres, depending on specification.

Advanced technology on board includes fibre optics for the daytime running lights and the manufacturer's new MBUX infotainment system.

The latter provides readout of range, charge status and energy flow, and incorporates navigation, natural language recognition, driving modes, charging current and departure time functions.

Another feature sure to win friends in more extreme climates is 'Pre-climatisation', which will heat/demist or cool the car to suit the owner's needs prior to driving. This feature can be programmed from MBUX or via a smartphone ('Mercedes me') app.

In keeping with its leading edge powertrain technology, the EQC will also offer owners what the manufacturer calls 'comprehensive services with Mercedes me' – services that make 'electromobility convenient and suitable for day to day motoring'.

The EQC is an integral part of a mobility strategy Mercedes-Benz has named 'CASE', which is an acronym for 'Connected, Autonomous, Shared & Services, Electric'.

“With the EQC – the first fully electric SUV from Mercedes-Benz – we are flipping the switch,” says Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of Daimler AG and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Cars.

“Electric drive is a major component in the mobility of the future. We are therefore investing more than ten billion euros in the expansion of our EQ model portfolio, and more than one billion euros in global battery production.”

Mercedes-Benz Australia is preparing to launch the EQC in the second half of 2019. At this stage the importer will offer no word on pricing other than a ballpark range between $100,000 and $150,000. That may leave the way open for an AMG body kit option, although no one at Mercedes-Benz Australia will confirm that.