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?

[SuperKendall]

Superfast acceleration is perhaps #231 on the list of must-haves for prospective buyers of this type of car.
It may not be top of the list for most buyers but to pretend it sits that low in importance seems not right to me... But beyond that let us proceed...

The importance things to compete on are range, charging, looks, room, quality, comfort.

Tesla's have more range as a top end option. Frankly I think if you are offering anything under 300 you should really go back and keep working it until you can hit that figure reliably.

Tesla has a HUGE lead in rapid charging stations (frankly to me this is the actual #1 for most people for any electric car since it means stopping overnight vs. for snacks).

As you say they mostly look like a real car, and I personally like how the model 3 looks better than almost any modern sedan. The look of the new Mercedes seems OK, though it seems oddly stretched out, like a piece of taffy just being pulled?

Teslas also have good room with extra trunks.

Quality and comfort to me seems about the same in a Tesla as modern Mercedes I've been in. Maybe slightly lower quality but even the top end cars are not that impressive quality-wise if you've attended an auto show recently.