Photo: Mercedes-Benz
Only a few days left until Mercedes-Benz will reveal its first fully battery-electric production model at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show. Part of the newly established EQ brand, the EQC It will mark the German automaker’s head-on collision with the electric vehicle market, or the start of what it calls the “electric offensive.”
Mercedes-Benz published on Thursday an interview with Michael Kelz, chief engineer for the EQC, and with it two photos showing a pre-production version undergoing testing in Sweden, near the Arctic Circle, with the front grille almost entirely visible.
According to Kelz, the new EV builds on Benz’s experience with battery-electric vehicles, but, thanks to the new technologies that have gone into it, will also mark a milestone for the brand.
Dodging questions in a very elegant manner, the executive revealed nothing apart for the fact that the model will be an all-wheel drive. Earlier information points to the fact that the EQC will use a 70 kWh + battery pack, giving it a range of some 300 miles per charge (482 km).
“Then there are innovative solutions in areas such as telematics, connectivity and charging. The EQC really does herald the beginning of a new era in electric mobility at Mercedes-Benz,” he said.
It seems the battery pack faired rather well in the minus 35 degrees Celsius conditions of Northern Sweden. The EQC was put through its paces and made to climb gradients of up to 20 percent, drive on tracks with varying coefficients of friction, handling courses, and skid on sheer ice of a frozen lake.
“In addition to vehicle dynamics on snow and ice, winter testing of an electric car naturally also focuses on how well the battery system and the powertrain perform in sub-zero temperatures,” Kelz added.
The Mercedes-Benz EQC will be revealed in full on March 6, together with the Mercedes-AMG GT Coupe, the C-Class Sedan and Wagon, the X-Class and the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class.
According to Kelz, the new EV builds on Benz’s experience with battery-electric vehicles, but, thanks to the new technologies that have gone into it, will also mark a milestone for the brand.
Dodging questions in a very elegant manner, the executive revealed nothing apart for the fact that the model will be an all-wheel drive. Earlier information points to the fact that the EQC will use a 70 kWh + battery pack, giving it a range of some 300 miles per charge (482 km).
“Then there are innovative solutions in areas such as telematics, connectivity and charging. The EQC really does herald the beginning of a new era in electric mobility at Mercedes-Benz,” he said.
It seems the battery pack faired rather well in the minus 35 degrees Celsius conditions of Northern Sweden. The EQC was put through its paces and made to climb gradients of up to 20 percent, drive on tracks with varying coefficients of friction, handling courses, and skid on sheer ice of a frozen lake.
“In addition to vehicle dynamics on snow and ice, winter testing of an electric car naturally also focuses on how well the battery system and the powertrain perform in sub-zero temperatures,” Kelz added.
The Mercedes-Benz EQC will be revealed in full on March 6, together with the Mercedes-AMG GT Coupe, the C-Class Sedan and Wagon, the X-Class and the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class.
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