Photo: Mercedes-Benz
Talk about the future Mercedes-Benz EVs is beginning to build up, and so it's time to apply the "there's no smoke without a fire" idiom. Actually, we're way past that since the introduction of this mystery electric SUV from Daimler has been confirmed by the company's Chief Development Officer, Mr. Thomas Weber.
Not much is known about the car fight now, except that it's intended as a direct competitor for Tesla's Model X SUV, which means it'll have to be around the size of a Mercedes-Benz GLE. But the development of the two vehicles is likely to be very different: Tesla is now the owner of the best electric powertrain on the marked both in terms of dynamic performances and maximum range, but it still has some built quality issues that it needs to address, and it seems to have chosen to do it on the move.
Daimler, on the other hand, has over a hundred years of tradition of making cars, so we know what to expect from it regarding reliability. However, even though it has worked with Tesla before on the B-Class Electric Drive, its battery-powered vehicles haven't been too impressive so far. And that's putting it lightly.
Now, though, the Daimler official spoke of a maximum range of 310 miles (500 km), which would put the Mercedes-Benz model on top of the EV list. Elon Musk said that they could easily do a car that will go over 400 miles as soon as the next day, but it would cost a fortune and nobody would buy it. If a man who owns a monster battery plant says that, we should probably believe him.
How exactly is Daimler going to work around this problem? No idea, but it appears we're going to find out in just a few months. Having the date set for the initial presentation is one thing, but there's still no word on when we should expect the new model to roll out, apart from some time "this decade." Well, that narrows it down considering the alternative was the "eternity." Even though he didn't provide a clear timeframe, Mr. Weber did give this encouraging piece of news: "The structure is ready, the teams are working and the initial results from road tests are coming in quick succession."
If Mercedes-Benz - or any other prestigious premium carmaker - manages to build an EV with a competitive range, then Tesla will be faced with the first real competition since the company's debut. We'll just have to see how it deals with it.
Daimler, on the other hand, has over a hundred years of tradition of making cars, so we know what to expect from it regarding reliability. However, even though it has worked with Tesla before on the B-Class Electric Drive, its battery-powered vehicles haven't been too impressive so far. And that's putting it lightly.
Now, though, the Daimler official spoke of a maximum range of 310 miles (500 km), which would put the Mercedes-Benz model on top of the EV list. Elon Musk said that they could easily do a car that will go over 400 miles as soon as the next day, but it would cost a fortune and nobody would buy it. If a man who owns a monster battery plant says that, we should probably believe him.
How exactly is Daimler going to work around this problem? No idea, but it appears we're going to find out in just a few months. Having the date set for the initial presentation is one thing, but there's still no word on when we should expect the new model to roll out, apart from some time "this decade." Well, that narrows it down considering the alternative was the "eternity." Even though he didn't provide a clear timeframe, Mr. Weber did give this encouraging piece of news: "The structure is ready, the teams are working and the initial results from road tests are coming in quick succession."
If Mercedes-Benz - or any other prestigious premium carmaker - manages to build an EV with a competitive range, then Tesla will be faced with the first real competition since the company's debut. We'll just have to see how it deals with it.
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