2023-07-15 05:01:04
Mercedes has decided to discontinue production of its EQC, which was the very first electric car in the EQ range. In question, too disappointing sales and far too fierce competition. He shouldn’t have a direct replacement at this time.
From 2035, all cars sold in Europe will have to be electric, in accordance with the will of the European Union, despite resistance from Germany. And all manufacturers will have to comply with this obligation, except some who sell less than 1,000 cars per year, such as Caterham. Mercedes will therefore be no exception and has already begun to electrify its catalog well.
A mixed success
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If it was still slightly behind some rivals a few years ago, the star firm unveiled its very first electric model, the EQC, in 2018. The latter had indeed been presented at an event in Stockholm, then had also been shown to the general public at the Paris World Cup a few months later. Its marketing had started at the beginning of 2019.
On paper, this newcomer was very promising with its electric motorization and its SUV silhouette very fashionable. But in reality, it’s a little different. And for good reason, success will never have been there for the EQC, whose the career finally stopped a few weeks earlier, in complete silence. They are the journalists of the‘Automobile Magazine which reveal this information, which has gone unnoticed until now.
And a little spin on the brand’s website confirms the sad news, since the site no longer offers to order a new copy of the electric SUV. However, it is still possible to buy a car from the remaining stock, but also to book a test drive at the dealership. But then, why did the Mercedes EQC end its career prematurely, without even going through the restyling box ?
To tell the truth, the reasons are multiple but overall, it is the lack of love of the customers for this model which got the better of its existence. In fact, last year only 171 copies of the SUV have been sold on the French market, which is ridiculously little. For comparison, even the Alpine A110 sold better with over 2,000 units. And we are very far from the success of the Tesla Model Y!
Tough competition
And precisely, the attraction of customers for the electric SUV of the American brand is probably not for nothing in the fall of the Mercedes EQC. But this decline had already been initiated by the arrival of the Model X, although its sales remain quite confidential all the same. Not to mention the competition from the Jaguar I-Pace and other Audi e-trons, now renamed Q8 e-trons, which we were able to test a few months earlier.
But that’s not the only thing that contributed to the disenchantment with the German firm’s first zero-emission (exhaust) model. Indeed, its technical characteristics were also quite disappointing and above all not up to the competition.
In its infancy, the SUV was indeed equipped witha simple on-board charger of only 7.4 kW while fast charging was limited to 110 kW, which is currently very low.
Indeed, some models like the Porsche Taycan now go up to 270 kW. And who says high power says fast charging. However, we know how important this is, especially when the autonomy is not very great. This was the case with the EQC, which topped out at 400 kilometers according to the WLTP cycle with its 80 kWh battery. This is not enough for a family-oriented model, which requires more than 40 minutes to reach 80% charge.
In addition, the prices were still quite prohibitive, displayed from 78,950 euro for the AMG Line finish. Suffice to say that at this price, there is no question of taking advantage of the slightest little ecological bonus! For now, Mercedes has not announced a replacement for its electric SUV. Customers will be able to opt for the EQA and EQB, which are currently benefiting from a huge price drop thanks to the arrival of a new finish.
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