The 2021 Mercedes EQC has been launched in Europe. The new model is cheaper and available in two new trims – base and AMG Line, priced at €66,068.80 (INR 58.10 lakh) and €73,208.802 (INR 64.37 lakh), respectively. The base trim is eligible for an environmental incentive as well, which reduces its effective price to under €60,000 in the German market.
Mercedes-Benz employed cost-cutting measures for the EQC in Germany at the end of last year, and we understand why. Because the list price has reduced to under €65,000 (excl. VAT), the electric SUV is eligible for an environmental bonus of €5,000 from the federal government and a €2,500 subsidy from Mercedes-Benz. The base Mercedes EQC now costs €63,093.80 (incl. VAT), and on deducting the €5,000 environmental bonus from the government, the effective price becomes €58,093.80 or INR 51.08 lakh (incl. VAT).
The Mercedes EQC AMG Line comes with an exclusive exterior and interior. On the outside, the sportier trim has a unique black panel front grille in a twin-blade design, a distinctive front apron in what the company calls a “jet-wing design,” special 19-inch five-twin spoke alloy wheels, and a specific rear apron.
The Mercedes EQC AMG Line’s interior is differentiated from the base trim with features like a flat-bottom sports steering wheel in Nappa leather, sports seats with ARTICO artificial leather/DINAMICA microfibre upholstery, a dashboard in Nappa-look artificial leather, faux carbon-fibre trim, and stainless steel sports pedals.
Daimler says that it sold around 20,000 EQCs last year and that China, Norway, and Great Britain, followed by Germany and the Netherlands, were its largest markets. The demand in Germany may increase significantly because of the price cut for its base configuration.
Mercedes EQC gets faster AC charging
The plus side to the MY2021 Mercedes EQC is that it comes with a more powerful onboard charger. The AC charger of the luxury electric SUV is now an 11 kW 3-phase AC unit in European markets.
Since its launch in 2019, a downside of the Mercedes EQC has been its 7.4 kW AC onboard charger. Charging from 10-100% SOC (State Of Charge) using this single-phase onboard charger with a Wallbox or a public AC fast charger takes 11 hours. Switch to a 2.3 kW AC charger at home and the time shoots up to 40 hours 45 minutes!
The three-phase 11 kW AC onboard charger has considerably reduced the charging time. The 80 kWh battery can be charged in 7.5 hours from 10 to 100 percent SOC either at the wallbox or at the AC public charging station.
The Mercedes EQC comes with a 110 kW DC onboard fast charger as well which allows rapidly charging the battery pack from 10-80% in just 40 minutes. The all-electric SUV has an 80 kWh Lithium-ion battery pack as standard. Weighing 652 kg, this battery pack provides a range of 370-414 km as per the new, WLTP test cycle. The 2021 Mercedes EQC, unlike the old model, has a longer, 5 metre (instead of 4 metre) charging cable.
Two motors, one at the front and one at the rear, generate a combined power of 300 kW (408 PS) and a combined torque of 760 Nm. A 0-100 km/h sprint takes 5.1 seconds, while the top speed is electronically limited to 180 km/h.
Charging the Mercedes EQC in India
Mercedes-Benz India introduced the EQC in October 2020, delivering the MY2020 units initially. The company had locked the price of the new electric SUV at INR 99.30 lakh (ex-showroom) for the first 50 units. All those 50 units have been spoken for, and the units arriving from the second batch cost INR 1.04 crore (ex-showroom). Whether India will be getting the MY2021 units from the second batch is to be ascertained.
To recap, the Mercedes EQC is a mid-size SUV based on the platform of the Mercedes GLC. Although the base SUV is assembled in India, the all-electric model is imported via the CBU route from the Bremen plant (Germany).
Speaking to ElectricVehicleWeb.in at the Auto Expo 2020, Martin Schwenk, MD & CEO of Mercedes-Benz India, said he expects that customers in India would charge their Mercedes electric car mostly through the Wallbox solution either at home or at the office where the car is parked for hours at a stretch.
The Mercedes EQC will compete directly with the Audi e-tron and the Jaguar I-Pace in India. The former is expected to be launched next month, while the latter’s launch has already been confirmed for the 9th of March.
![Mercedes EQE to release mid-year in the 350 variant [Update]](https://electricvehicleweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/2023-Mercedes-Benz-EQE-Edition-1-AMG-Line-front-350x243.jpg)
