Mercedes-Benz India Enters Electric Space With Launch Of EQ Brand

Mercedes-Benz India on Tuesday announced its entry in the electric space in the domestic market with the launch of its EQ brand. The luxury car maker plans to come out with its first full electric vehicle EQC in April. The launch of EQ brand underlines Mercedes-Benz India's strategic initiative in the EV domain to establish luxury electric motoring in the country, the company said. "The first vehicle that the brand as such as a full EV been able to deliver or aiming to deliver is the EQC, which is a sporty SUV, which has been unveiled today," Martin Schwenk, MD and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India told PTI.

EQ is the brand which Mercedes has grouped and bundled all activities around electrification. It has three different stands -- EQ boost, EQ Power and EQ itself. And it goes with the electrification of portfolios from mild-hybrid to plug-in hybrid and to full electeric vehicles.

"With the launch of EQ we firmly announce Mercedes-Benz's arrival into the new era of electro mobility. We want the EQ brand to create an ecosystem in which electric mobility is reliable, simple and at the same time exciting," he said.

Stating that Mercedes-Benz India is gradually but truly building the footprint with the brand and EQ as well as with the EV, Schwenk said our biggest first step in that direction is all-electric EQC.

"The 'EQ' brand is a key pillar of our 'Sustainable Luxury' objective and is the first dedicated luxury electric brand in India. We felt the time was right to introduce EQ brand in India.

"We are confident that EQ will lay a strong foundation for our electric ambition in India, which will see further expansion of our green cars portfolio and also for our future," he said.

EQC edition1886 is essentially very close to the car that will be introduced in April, he said.

Schwenk said Mercedes Benz India sees a gradual growth at a measured pace in its EV portfolio going forward. He said at the global scale, there will be as many as 10 electric models are being made available in the next 2-3 years, there will also be  more and more hybrid vehicles in the portfolio of both Mercedes-Benz and Daimler AG.

"So, we are trying to see what fits India. But right now, I have no clear decisions or plans how we address them in the next 2-4 years," he said. According to Schwenk a lot of things would depend on issues such as infrastructure, regulatory framework, among others, going forward.

"If there is some support for plug-in hybrids, it will make a case for customers to buy a plug-in hybrid car. If it is treated same as a car with combustion engine or like a normal petrol or diesel car, it does not make a sense for both the customers and the manufacturer," he said.