Ola Kaellenius, President of Daimler AG, attends the presentation of the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class at the Daimler production plant in Sindelfingen, near Stuttgart, Germany, on September 2, 2020. REUTERS / Ralph Orlowski
Daimler AG (DAIGn.DE) on Thursday unveiled the electric “brother” of its luxury Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan, leading the fight to market leader Tesla Inc. (TSLA.O) in the battle for market share as electric car. sales soar.
The EQS is the first in a Mercedes-Benz family of cars built on a dedicated electric vehicle platform built from scratch. It will go on sale in Europe and the United States in August and then in China in January.
Sales of plug-in electric and hybrid cars in the European Union nearly tripled to over a million vehicles last year, accounting for more than 10% of global sales.
“We set the bar very high,” with this car, Daimler chief executive Ola Källenius told reporters. “Customers in this segment expect a mix of high-tech innovation and modern luxury … and that’s what we’re trying to achieve with EQS.”
Daimler has not yet revealed EQS prices, saying it will arrive in the summer closer to the launch date.
Thursday in interviews and conference calls Källenius
avoided making comparisons with Tesla, the market capitalization of more than $ 700 billion pushes the rest of the vehicle manufacturers.
But with a range of up to 770 kilometers (478 miles) and a new screen that will cover almost the entire dashboard (an optional feature), analysts see an effort to take advantage of Tesla’s initiative, which had an advantage over other manufacturers. of vehicles and had a wider range of batteries and a characteristic touch screen entertainment system.
In a customer note earlier this week, Deutsche Bank referred to the EQS as “Mercedes’ Tesla combat” and said the car “will likely set the benchmark in terms of technical features as well as design and quality “for both traditional vehicle manufacturers and newer entrants such as Tesla.
Källenius said he expects more than 50% of customers to pay more to get the screen, which Mercedes-Benz introduced in January.
Measuring 56 inches (142 cm), the new “Hyperscreen”, which in width worsens Tesla’s presumed 17-inch screen, will also appear on Mercedes-Benz’s other new electric models.
Källenius said the company would not provide forecasts of how many EQS models it intends to sell, or what kind of profit margins it expected the vehicle to generate.
But he said he had high expectations for the Chinese market, where there is a “huge demand” for the traditional S-class combustion engine model.
Now Daimler joins rival Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) with a dedicated electric platform. BMW (BMWG.DE) will launch a dedicated platform in 2025.
Mercedes head of sales Britta Seeger said the launch of the EQS coincides with the demand for electric vehicles growing faster than the company’s executives once planned.
“We thought in 2030 that half of our sales would be electric vehicles” and plug-in hybrid vehicles, Seeger said during a conference call. “What we’re seeing right now … is a stronger demand for electric vehicles from customers. We’re even more confident that this jump can be a little faster.”
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