Mercedes-Benz plugs EQE and AMG EQE into South Africa

Absent from the full EQ line-up launch at the Kyalami Festival of Motoring last year, Mercedes-Benz has now confirmed the range of EQE models bound for South Africa later this year.

What South Africa is getting

The all-electric equivalent of the E-Class that will filter-in below the EQS as Benz’s most attainable EV sedan, the EQE will eventually be joined this year by the EQE SUV and EQS SUV in a range spanning seven EQ models as the EQA, EQB and EQC are already available.

For South Africa, Mercedes-Benz has stuck with the derivatives offered globally, namely the EQE 350+ and from the AMG side, the EQE 43 with the more powerful 53 being a no-no for now.

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Despite final specification not being confirmed, chances are little will change from the comparative global models, meaning the inclusion of the 56-inch Hyperscreen OLED display, five driving modes and, in the case of the EQE 43, the AMG Ride Control+ air suspension with adaptive damping, AMG Dynamic Select system with the model specific Race mode and ability to turn the Electronic Stability Control off entirely.

Electric power punch

Up front, both the EQE 350+ and AMG 43 derive motivation from the same 90-kWh battery, albeit with different outputs as the former offers-up 215kW/565Nm and the latter 350kW/858Nm as a result of a secondary electric motor mounted on the front axle.

In spite of both being limited to 210 km/h, the 350+ will get from 0-100 km/h in 6.4 seconds and the 43 in 4.2 seconds, with respective ranges of 645 km and 535 km between trips to the plug.

The similar battery sizes stretch further as both are able to be charged from a 170 kW fast charger that results in a waiting time of 32 minutes from 0-80%. Using an 11 kW charger though increases the wait to nine hours, while the three-phase 22 kW reduces this to just over four hours.

How much?

Although announced, final pricing remains to be confirmed, but based on the EQS 450+’s starting sticker of R2 620 000, expect the EQE 350+ to retail from around R2 million with the AMG EQE 43 likely to start at the R2.3 million mark.