Ola Kaellenius, Chairman of Daimler AG attends the presentation of the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class at the Daimler production plant in Sindelfingen near Stuttgart, Germany, 2 September 2020. REUTERS / Ralph Orlowski
Daimler AG (DAIGn.DE) on Thursday unveiled the electric “brother or sister” of its flagship Mercedes-Benz S-Class luxury sedan and led the battle to market leader Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) in the battle for market share as an electric car . sales are declining.
The EQS is the first in a family of Mercedes-Benz cars built on a dedicated electric vehicle platform built from the ground up. It will be on sale in Europe and the United States in August, and then in China in January.
Sales of electric and plug-in hybrid cars in the European Union nearly tripled last year to more than 1 million vehicles, accounting for more than 10% of total sales.
“We have set the bar very high,” with this car, Daimler CEO 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 the EQS.”
Daimler has not yet announced prices for the EQS, saying it will come closer to the launch date in the summer.
In interviews and conference calls on Thursday Källenius
avoid making comparisons with Tesla, whose market capitalization of more than $ 700 billion dwarfs all other automakers.
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 attempt to take advantage of Tesla’s initiative, which has had an edge on other car manufacturers and boasts longer batteries and a distinctive touchscreen information system.
In a customer letter earlier this week, Deutsche Bank referred to the EQS as’ Mercedes’ Tesla fighter ‘and said the car would’ likely set the standard in terms of technical features as well as design and quality ‘for both traditional car manufacturers and newer car manufacturers. entrants like Tesla.
Källenius said he expects more than 50% of customers to pay extra to get the screen, which Mercedes-Benz launched in January.
The new “Hyperscreen”, which dwarfs the width of Tesla’s offending 17-inch screen, is 56 inches (too) and will also appear in Mercedes-Benz’s other new electric models.
Källenius said the company would not give predictions for how many EQS models it wants to sell, or what kind of profit margins it expects to generate the vehicle.
But he said he has high expectations for the Chinese market, where there is a “huge demand” for the traditional S-Class model of the internal combustion engine.
Daimler now joins a dedicated electrical platform with rival Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE). BMW (BMWG.DE) will launch a dedicated platform in 2025.
Mercedes sales chief Britta Seeger said the launch of the EQS coincided with demand for electric vehicles growing faster than management had once predicted.
“By 2030, we thought half of our sales would be electric vehicles” and built-in hybrid vehicles, Seeger said during a conference. ‘What we’re seeing right now … is a stronger request from customers for EVs. We are even more positive that this jump can be a little faster. ”
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