Mercedes joins the big electric car push

First there was IQ, or intelligence quotient, to test how clever we are. Then came EQ, for emotional intelligence, to test how well we engage with the world.

Now, Mercedes-Benz is introducing a new form of EQ, for electric intelligence, or how well our cars prepare us for the future.

That will be the branding for a new range of vehicles being developed by the world’s leading luxury German carmaker, as it aims to drive automotive technology beyond connected and self-driving cars.

Last week, the carmaker unveiled Concept EQA, a compact, sporty electric car that is expected to have a range of 400km on one charge. It has one electric motor on the front axle and one at the rear, allowing for greater flexibility in driving settings.

More important, though, it will have zero carbon emissions and is part of Mercedes-Benz’s push into the electric car market.

According to Johannes Fritz, the company’s co-chief executive in South Africa, battery-electric models will account for 15% to 25% of total unit sales by 2025.  The big variation in forecasts is a result of uncertainty around both customer preferences and public infrastructure.

The common perception is that the lack of government interest in an electric vehicle future will hamper the rollout of a charging network. And that lack of public interest means there is little incentive for carmakers to increase production.

To counter this perception, and advance its vision of EQMercedes-Benz combined the unveiling of the Concept EQA with the opening of a unique pavilion at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town.

It commissioned designer Es Devlin to create an interactive sculpture in a solar-powered pavilion, called the Zoetrope. It will be open to the public, at no cost, for the next 12 months. The thinking is that, in future, a global network of solar-powered pavilions will act as charging stations.

At present, Nissan and BMW lead both the electric vehicle (EV) and charging station market in South Africa. The BMW i3 and Nissan Leaf are synonymous with EVs in South Africa, and were recently joined by the Jaguar E-Pace. The Leaf has not only been a popular choice in the market, but has also helped Nissan advance a vision called Intelligent Mobility. The concept incorporates driving technology, battery technology and the car’s integration with a broader ecosystem.

It is clear that Mercedes-Benz’s Electric Intelligence is a direct challenge to Nissan’s thought leadership in this arena. To this end, the German carmaker has come up with an additional framework it calls Case. That’s a loose acronym for networking (connected), autonomous driving (autonomous), flexible use (shared & services) and electric drive systems (electric).

That doesn’t mean the existing petrol-driven range will take a back seat. Says Fritz: “We need the core business to invest in the electric future.”

Selvin Govender, marketing director of Mercedes-Benz Cars SA, points out that the new technology is still evolving. “The Mercedes-Benz EQ brand and technology encapsulates all the electric know-how of Mercedes-Benz cars,” he says. “By 2022, Mercedes-Benz will offer more than 10 purely electrically driven vehicles in every production series.”

The EQA will be part of this rollout, but won’t be the first electric Merc in South Africa. That honour will go to the EQC, a sedan with an expected range of more than 450km on one charge.

Launched a few weeks ago, it will be produced at a plant in Bremen next year, and is set to be delivered to South African customers in 2020. By then, Govender believes, charging stations will be commonplace. “They are popping up around the country. There is one at the Zoetrope, and four below it in the parking garage.

“Every new mall that’s coming up, they’re building with charging stations in mind. This rollout is happening, whether or not government or manufacturers support it. Society is supporting it.”

Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz has invested R100 million on a South African plant building hybrid petrol-electric cars. This makes it the only manufacturer on the African continent to build hybrid vehicles for export to the rest of the world.

“Plug-in hybrids represent a key technology on the road to a locally emission-free future for the motor vehicle,” says Govender. “This is because they offer customers the best of both worlds; in the city they can drive in fully electric mode, while on long journeys they benefit from the combustion engine’s range.”

Parent company Daimler AG is investing about €1 billion (R16 billion) in battery production. It is developing a new flash charge technology that allows an EV battery to be charged from 10% to 80% in 40 minutes.

However, he is under no illusion that the public will embrace the EV. “It’s not going to be a switch we turn from nonelectric to electric. We have to slowly build up demand.”

Arthur Goldstuck is founder of World Wide Worx and editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za Follow him on Twitter and Instagram on @art2gee