Mercedes Unveils First Tesla Rival In $12 Billion Attack (bloomberg.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: Mercedes-Benz, the world's largest maker of luxury cars, is rolling out its first in a series of battery-powered models, adding to a growing array of high-end brands targeting Tesla. The Mercedes EQC crossover starts production in the first half of next year, part of a plan to develop its EQ electric line, Daimler AG Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche told reporters in Stockholm at the car's world premiere. The company intended to invest $12 billion on the electric-car push, but the spending has become "more than that," he said Tuesday, without specifying figures. "There is no alternative to betting on electric cars, and we're going all in," Zetsche said. "It is starting right now." The new EQC -- roughly the size of the brand's popular GLC SUV -- features a range of more than 280 miles and accelerates to 62 mph in as little as 5.1 seconds. The Model X has a range of 237 miles. Daimler doesn't plan to establish a dedicated electric assembly plant and will instead build the vehicles at the same sites as conventional automobiles to be able to better adjust output, Zetsche said, adding that he expects demand to mainly eat into sales of combustion cars rather than lure new customers.

Comments

Re: 5.1 seconds?

[Anonymous Coward]

I think they want to compete in sales rather than racing the cars...

Re:so close

[bobbied]

Mercedes isn't the paragon of virtue quality wise. They have their own quality issues. My brother is a Mercedes dealer mechanic (among the top 10% in the nation) and he told me that there are a number of models he'd never recommend anybody buy. Their SUV initially had some serious quality issues with the electronics packages and once they fall out of warranty, few folks keep them due to their huge maintenance costs, so they get junked pretty quick.

But you do make a valid point. Tesla needs to get that factory working and stop messing around. They don't have time to mess with any new features, but need to start pushing out cars at a profit. They have to make good and start recouping their investors' money.

Long term, Tesla will face a serious issue with their build costs. That's where the majors will clean their clocks. They know how to run the supply chain, drive costs down on volume and build cars accurately and quickly. Tesla will struggle there too. Their margin for error is very small.