Mercedes-Benz EV confirmed for Oz
Electric SUV coming to Australia this decade for under $100K – and no luxury car taxA silent, luxurious and fossil fuel-free electric SUV is coming to Australian Mercedes-Benz dealerships for under $100,000 from 2019, and the German car-maker says the wait will be worth it.
The first vehicle in Mercedes newly-revealed 'Generation EQ' electric vehicle sub-brand was previewed at the 2016 Paris motor show via a sleek prototype SUV with no door-handles, cameras instead of mirrors and a 500km cruising range.
Although Aussie buyers have yet to flock to electric vehicles – high prices, range anxiety and a dearth of infrastructure on the island nation being the chief concerns – the high-riding Tesla Model X competitor is Australia-bound.
"Despite a lack of incentives and infrastructure, yes, absolutely we'll bring it to Australia," said Mercedes-Benz Australia's senior manager for product and corporate communications, David McCarthy.
The vehicle's name is not yet known but it's powered by a pair of electric motors, located front and rear, allowing for intelligent all-wheel drive.
Like the Tesla SUV, it will deliver 'sports car' levels of straight line speed with its 300kW output and its 70kWh Lithium-ion battery is good for a claimed 500km cruising distance according to Benz.
"It's the size of vehicle that will be the most effective in getting sold. A mid-sized SUV is where you're going to get the biggest take up -- it's a flexible vehicle."
Quizzed over whether it'll be a six-figure proposition Down Under, the Benz Australia exec said it was unlikely.
"I think there'll be a premium. It's a long way off but with that sort of range [500km] I think it'll be closer to $100,000 than $70,000, so somewhere in between."
Aussies may not have to wait in line as the rest of the world gets their Benz EVs either, which has been the case with electric and hybrid vehicles in the past.
"I think the three years is the further date. Left-hand drive cars are usually produced first, but I don’t see why if we want the car we can't get it quite early."
An advanced electric drivetrain is a major drawcard for Benz's upcoming EQ range, which will expand to almost a dozen different EV vehicles in 10 years' time.
That's the word from Mercedes-Benz CEO Dieter Zetsche, who gave a keynote speech on Daimler's EV plans during the Generation EQ premiere at the 2016 Paris motor show.
"By 2025 we'll have more than 10 fully electric vehicles on the market," proclaimed the Benz supremo, who hopes that in a decade one in every four Mercedes purchased will be a full EV.
"Our goal is to have EVs make up between 15 and 25 per cent of our global sales by 2025."
Bold words by a man wearing jeans and sneakers, but Mercedes wants to be seen as an innovator -- not just a car-maker -- in the face of increasing pressure from Californian industry disruptor Tesla.
Zetsche cautioned that these predictions of massive EV sales (which have been touted since the early 2000s by many top auto execs, and are yet to hold water) hinge on two crucial factors.
"That [EV sales forecast] of course also depends on the continued development of infrastructure and customer preferences."
Closer to home, the Australian Mercedes operation hopes that by the time this new 'EQ' SUV arrives in 2019, buyers will be more open to the idea of driving – and buying – an electric vehicle.
"We have to put our hand up and say, yes we want it – which we will – and hopefully between now and then there's some [government] incentive [for EVs in Australia]," McCarthy.
"Maybe it's not a direct incentive, but perhaps some forgone revenue where they mightn't charge LCT or GST," posited McCarthy.
He went further, arguing that luxury car tax will be a thing of the past by decade's end, which in turn will make EVs – particularly prestige variants – more affordable in Australia.
"By the time these cars come to market, Australia will negotiate a free-trade agreement with the EU. And there's no way that'll happen if the LCT still exists. So it will go," opined McCarthy.
"The EU has taken that position on LCT since it was introduced. They regard it as a false tariff."
It's clear that Mercedes-Benz' global boss and the company's board of directors in Stuttgart, who have approved the spending of billions of dollars to shore up its battery production facilities for an EV-intensive portfolio, think EVs are the way of the future.
"Now is the time to flip the switch," intoned Dr Zetsche in his keynote Paris address.
Whether Australia flips that switch along with the rest of the world is another question.
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