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Price of the first Chinese assembled Mercedes-Benz EV?

From:Internet Info Agency 2019-05-23 17:53:19

Automobile industry hot topic Q&A (Ep. 203)

Author: He Lun, IIA Co-Chief Content Officer, Deputy Head of IIA Academy of Auto

The electric vehicle market has received a lot of attention recently. On the one hand, Tesla, NIO and BYD's electric vehicles have caught fire, which has triggered a heated discussion on the safety of electric vehicles. On the other hand, the German luxury automakers’ EV projectsare going well, Mercedes-Benz EQC and Audi e-tron will be launched at the end of this year and next year. Recently, Mercedes-Benz has hosted the Mercedes-Benz EQC global media test drive in Norway. What about the safety of German EV? And what the price of Mercedes-Benz EQC(assembled in China) will be? 

Q: Recently, a series of electric vehicle fire accidents have caused many people to question the safety of electric vehicles. Mercedes-Benz's first Chinese assembled electric vehicle, EQC, will be put into production at the end of the year. Is it a bad time?

A: I guess the impact will not be that much. When the new generation of electric vehicles has a problem, it will always catch lots of attention. In the case of the internal combustion engine car, there will be less attention. Electric vehicle technology still needs to continue to improve. On the one hand, people cannot ignore the safety of electric vehicles. On the other hand, electric vehicles that do not have a battery fire accident should not be forgotten. For example, Toyota's electric vehicles, including hybrid vehicles with large power batteries, have sold millions of units for more than 20 years. There is zero battery fire accident. Nissan Leaf electric vehicles sold more than 400,000 units without any battery fire accident. This shows that some manufacturers have found a good way, and they are still improving, while others are still working hard and will eventually find it.

As for the Mercedes-Benz electric car, this time I went to participate in EQC global media test drive. In an interview with Kaellenius, I specifically asked him about the fire of electric vehicles. He replied: "In terms of safety, Mercedes-Benz pays attention to any detail in the process of developing a new car, as well as battery safety. Each of our new cars is subject to a series of official safety tests, including battery safety, in different countries and regions, including China, Europe and North America. We can ensure that EQC meets the highest safety standards. After all, safety is the foundation of Mercedes-Benz.” 

This sounds very vague, but I believe that the probability of a German car going wrong in this area should be very low, which is one of the reasons why Germany is slow in terms of electric vehicles. The DENZA electric vehicles jointly produced by Mercedes-Benz and BYD have sold more than 10,000 vehicles. Although still not enough, there has not been a battery fire record in the past four years.

Q: The starting price of EQC in Germany is 71,281 euros, about 550,000 yuan. What do you think is the price of EQC assembled in China?

A: It can be estimated according to the price system of Mercedes-Benz. The starting price of the GLC 200 4MATIC in Germany is 46,237 euros. EQC is an electric vehicle with the same platform, which is 54% more expensive than it. The power and torque of the GLC 200L 4MATIC assembled in China is slightly lower than German version, starting at 390,800 yuan. If it is also increased by 54% on this basis, it is 602,000 yuan. If the price of EQC assembled in China is less than 600,000, such as 598,800, it may be more popular.

Of course, if Mercedes-Benz introduces a low-power version of EQC, such as 150 kW, the price may drop to around 500,000 yuan. In answering my question, Kaellenius said: "In the early days, we will provide a high-power version. Of course, we are also considering launching models of different power, different sizes and different price in the entire product cycle of the EQ family. Trying to enrich choices for our customers at market terminals."

Editor:He Lun