Video: Electric Mercedes-Benz EQC ready to roll

The Mercedes-Benz electric EQC can now be ordered and is rolling off the Bremen production line.

“With the Mercedes-Benz EQC, we are entering a new era of mobility,” Daimler AG management board member responsible for Mercedes-Benz Cars Sales Britta Seeger says.

“It is part of the growing family of all-electric vehicles at Mercedes-Benz.”

The EQC has a 445-471km (NEDC) range and a total output of 300kW with an electric motor on each axle providing 760Nm torque from its 80kWh battery pack.

Its top speed is 180km/h (governed) and the car can accelerate from 0-100km/h in 5.1 seconds.

At Bremen the EQC can also be integrated into the ongoing series production of vehicles with combustion engine or hybrid drive.

Mercedes-Benz hails the EQC as a pioneer for an avant-garde electric look while representing the design idiom of progressive luxury, saying it makes electric mobility convenient and suitable for everyday use.

Prices start at 71,281 euros (NZ$121,278) for the base version which includes a “wealth” of standard features.

Digital solutions such as sophisticated mobile devices, driverless transport systems and the ‘paperless factory’ assist the assembly team.

“Flexibility and efficiency are decisive pillars of the strategy in our global production network at Mercedes-Benz Cars. Production of the EQC is perfect proof of this,” Mercedes-Benz Cars production and supply chain divisional board member Markus Schafer says.

“The staff in Bremen have many years of experience in the production of vehicles with a wide range of drive types. We are building on this know-how in the electric age, too. With the start of production of the Mercedes-Benz EQC, we are turning the switch today – for the electric mobility of the future.”

Alongside Bremen, the Sino-German production joint venture Beijing Benz Automotive Co. (BBAC) will start production of the EQC this year – for the local market in China.

Other production locations for future Mercedes-Benz EQ models are the Mercedes-Benz plants in Rastatt (Germany), Sindelfingen (Germany), Tuscaloosa (USA) and Hambach (France).

The batteries for EQC production in Bremen are produced by wholly owned Daimler subsidiary Accumotive at Kamenz (near Dresden).

The company will be investing over one billion euros in global battery production with two factories each in Kamenz/Saxony and Stuttgart-Untertürkheim (Germany), and one each in Sindelfingen (Germany), Beijing (China), Tuscaloosa (USA), Jawor (Poland) and Bangkok (Thailand). In future, the worldwide battery production network of Mercedes-Benz Cars will consist of nine plants on three continents.

Mercedes-Benz is also taking steps towards automated and autonomous driving optional extras and additional packages, including the likes of the latest driving assistance package.

The EQC can be charged at a domestic socket (11 hours), through the Mercedes-Benz Wallbox Home, or on a DC fast charger for about 40 minutes to get from 10% to 80% charge.