Mercedes-Benz chief operating officer Markus Schafer says an electric equivalent to the C-Class executive saloon is unlikely to arrive until at least 2024, and will be built on the firm’s new electric-focused architecture.
The firm is currently expanding its line-up of electric vehicles, which the Mercedes-Benz EQC SUV set to be joined this year by the EQA crossover and EQB small SUV. The EQE and EQS saloons, equivalent to the E-Class and S-Class, are due to be revealed later this year.
While the C-Class and Mercedes-Benz S-Class share the MRA platform, Schafer hinted that a future electric C-Class equivalent would not use the new electric MEA platform that will underpin the EQS - and would instead likely adopt the firm’s new MMA platform.
Asked by Autocar about plans for an EQ saloon equivalent to the C-Class, Schafer said: “This vehicle addresses the current demand we believe is high around the globe from a loyal customer base. At the same time we’re offering a number of electric vehicles with EQA, EQB and EQB and, in the next couple of months, the EQS and the EQE, so there’s a wide range of vehicles.
“Do we expand? Yes we will. We gave a glimpse of our future MMA architecture, which we consider electric-first. The next platform is for compact and mixed-size vehicles from 2024, and this MMA platform is an electric-first architecture. It will be used for compact cars and it has the potential to reach into the mid-size segment as well. We are in the midst of this work and this could be a potential offer for more pure EV vehicles, including this class.”
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It's hard to see how BMW can turn around their train wreck of a strategy around at this point.
(Shoving batteries into an ICE platform is not a strategy.)
Tesla really have got a free run at this haven't they? You've got to REALLY want a petrol engine to choose a C Class over a Model 3 Long Range as a business driver these days.
Yep and what I think the other manufacturers are finding is that Tesla (and to a lesser extent the other early adopters) are now moving targets.
By 2024 the Model 3 will have the structural battery, dry electrode/silicon heavy cells. Net result will be a 100KWh battery and about a 100-150kg weight reduction. Also building it Berlin will nock about 13% of the price of getting it to EU customers (shipping and tarrif alone), this is before the structral battey and mega casting cost savings come in (~5%). However the main issue for MB is that Giga Berlin will be producing 1 million + 3 and Y by then.
You don't win the race by sitting out for a few years!
I can see that the strategy is to target the top of the market first but it looks like this is going to come at the cost of very large loss of market share at the bottom.
Given that Tesla hardly ever deliver what they promise on time...I think it's pointless to speculate what their products will or will not have in 3 years time.
Moreover, car companies cannot develop all of their models simultaneously; they have to prioritise...and it makes perfect sense to prioritise higher-profit models (i.e. SUVs and the larger saloons) first.
Apart from the cost savings, I think there are several reasons why one wouldn't go for a Model 3 (or any Tesla, for that matter); build quality is one (yes, it's improved, but still leaves much to be desired). Another is the over-simplification of its interior to contain just a touchscreen and not even an instrument binnacle in front of the driver - even the glovebox has to be opened from the touchscreen! Yet another is that the 3 doesn't seem to be as comfortable or refined as some of the competition, areas where Mercedes vehicles are typically good at too.
I'm not suggesting that Tesla are perfect by any means (the whole cult thing actually puts me off a bit), but I think that a lot of reasons people give for why they wouldn't consider one are relatively trivial. That said, as ever, try your shortlist back to back and see which ticks the most boxes. Personally, I can think of several hundred reasons a month why most people who can will choose a long range electric Tesla over a hybrid Mercedes of similar spec.