Mercedes-Benz unveiled its first electric SUV EQC in India- Final launch in April 2020

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Finally the Mercedes-Benz EQC electric SUV unveiled in India

Mercedes EQC in India (Mercedes-Benz first electric SUV in India): German car automaker Mercedes Benz is a big name in the India. It is known for the product quality and customer oriented after sales service. Like other automotive industry is also passing through a very significant change. It is emerging and brand like Hyundai and MG have already launched their electric vehicles. But a special group of people and I was also awaiting for the news to come electric car from one of my brand ‘Mercedes’.

On 14th January 2020, Mercedes-Benz India unveiled its most awaited electric SUV in India. Yes, you heard it right. One and only one Mercedes EQC is coming to Indian market very soon.

The unveiling event was organized at Mercedes-Benz’s Pune, Maharastra. Martin Schwenk, MD & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India announced the launch of the first Mercedes of EV in India by April 2020. During the event the Santosh Iyer, VP of Marketing for Mercedes Benz India explained the profile of the potential EQ customer.

Mercedes EQC-4 Matic Specification

The EQ brand is new in India, but it’s already launched in the European market. It is expected that the interior and the performance figures are going to be similar to the Netherlands and the UK market. The images shown below are from the unveil event held on 15 January 2020 in Mercedes-Benz’s Pune office (all images sourced from social media platform) . So, let’s get inside the details of Mercedes-Benz EQC Indian version.

EQC Interior

The brand offers a top quality interior in its all the cars. Mercedes EQC had the interior made up with the renewable raw materials. Specially to create the upholstery, hemp, kenaf, wool, cotton, paper, and natural rubber are used. With the super quality of interior, it has the EQC’s in-car tech headlined MBUX multimedia system, setup on a pair of 10.2-inch screen atop of the dash. It also has the driving assistance.

Mercedes EQC Motor & Battery specification

EQC is 4 wheel drive. There is motor in front as well as at the rear axle which provides enough power to this 05 seater SUV.
Battery– 85kWh (80kWh is useable)
Efficiency– 22.2kWh/100km
Acceleration– (0 – 100 km/h) – 5.1 seconds
Top Speed– 180 km/h
Power– 300kW (408 PS)

Battery Range of Mercedes EQC in India:

The battery range, which company claims is 471 km on a single charge. But the actual ground reality varies. It all depends on the weather conditions in which you are driving. EQC is already in the market of the Netherlands and UK. Below is the real world uses battery range for the EQC-         
Maximum in City (Mild Weather): 515 km         
Minimum in Highway (Cold Weather): 260 km
We can expect 400km to 450km of battery range in Indian driving conditions.

Mercedes EQC Dimension:

Length – 4761 mm
Width – 1884 mm
Height – 1623 mm
Wheelbase – 2873 mm
Weight – 2495 kg
Cargo Volume – 500L

My Words

With the introduction of the EQ – brand in India, the Mercedes-Benz India is also working towards strengthening its green credentials under its ‘Sustainable Luxury’ philosophy. Which is a good initiative. As per the Mercedes Benz chief India, by the end of 2020, about 45% of the power used at its plant in the Chakan near Pune (India) will be from the renewable sources (solar panels). Following the same time line the company will install 4,000 solar panels at its Pune’s manufacturing facility. This will produce around 1.6 MW and reduce CO₂ Emissions by 2,600 tonnes per annum.

Indian four-wheeler electric market is still in nascent stage. Only few players are on the ground. MG has it’s all electric SUV – MG ZS EV, Hyundai has Kona, Tata Motors also launched it’s Nexon Electric following to the Tata Tigor electric and Mahindra is also having two electric car- eVarito and e2O+. So, the customer has only a few choices. But Mercedes can easily take the benefits of the first mover in the market if it priced EQC reasonably. The main factor which will further push the EQC market is it’s brand value in India and the battery range, which is far more ahead than the Hyundai Kona and MG ZS EV.

Definitely the Mercedes-Benz EQC electric SUV will be in upcoming Auto Expo-2020 (India). So, let’s wait for the final launch, which is in April 2020.