Mercedes-Benz unveils new flagship EQS electric sedan for Tesla

Mercedes-Benz believes its new EQS sedan will redefine the all-electric luxury car segment as it competes with Tesla and a growing number of emerging start-ups and legacy car makers.

The 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS, unveiled on Thursday, heralds a new era for the German automaker as it revolves around EVs. The car will be part of its large S-Class family of cars when it arrives in US showrooms in the fall.

“The EQS is designed to exceed the expectations of even our most demanding customers,” said Ola Kaellenius, CEO of Mercedes-Benz and Daimler in a 63-page press release about the car. That’s exactly what a Mercedes has to do to earn the letter ‘S’ in its name. Because we don’t assign that letter lightly. ‘

The interior of the vehicle, in particular, resembles a futuristic spacecraft cockpit rather than a car. It has screens covering almost the entire dashboard of the vehicle. In total, it has three screens under one 56-inch curved glass surface, including a passenger screen that is not visible to the driver.

The carmaker has not revealed any pricing for the EQS, but industry experts expect it to easily reach $ 100,000. The starting price of the 2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class ranges between $ 94,000 and $ 160,000. The Mercedes-Maybach S models can cost $ 200,000.

“They started at the top,” said Jessica Caldwell, Insights Director at Edmunds.com. “This is similar to what we have seen with some other automakers. It is their most expensive vehicle that comes out first.”

The price range for Tesla’s Model S large sedan ranges from around $ 79,990 to $ 149,990, including a new high-end performance model, Model S Plaid.

The interior of the EQS is essentially the opposite of Tesla models with modern, simplistic interiors. Some Tesla models have only one large screen in the center of the instrument panel that controls almost all aspects of the vehicle.

The EQS “will have to have a feature to stand out. I think it will appeal to some buyers to give people the futuristic feeling that you are really driving something different,” said Caldwell. “But I think the simplistic design has made many people very happy for Tesla.”

The exterior of the EQS has a similar design to its traditional S-Class siblings, but slightly more aggressive on the front of the vehicle. A special “Edition One” unveiled by the company has a two-tone black and silver paint all over the car.

The car is the first electric car on a new vehicle platform for Mercedes-Benz. It also features a new generation of batteries with a significantly higher energy density, allowing for a longer range.

The first models to arrive in the US offer up to 516 horsepower and 611 pound-feet of torque. The fully electric range of the vehicles is expected to be approximately 770 kilometers.

For engineering, the vehicle offers a range of safety and convenience features, including a new driver assistance system that can control vehicle speed and braking, as well as assist with other functions such as lane changing or keeping the car on its way lane. The system is more driver-controlled than other Tesla and General Motors systems.

The EQS will also include an available augmented reality system, including a head-up display, which projects three-dimensional images such as arrows onto the screens to show drivers where to go.

The EQS is part of Mercedes-Benz’s “Ambition 2039” initiative, which includes more than half of cars sold with electric drive systems, including all-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.

Mercedes-Benz is in a race with other older automakers to launch new EVs to catch up with industry leader Tesla, who accounted for the bulk of all-electric sales in the US. They are also anticipating a host of new competitors such as Lucid, which plans to launch a luxury electric car later this year.

“I think Mercedes Benz is going to do a great job in the field of electric vehicles,” said Brian Moody, editor-in-chief at Autotrader. He said they should be a formidable competitor to Tesla, which he attributes to the fact that they really show the auto industry “what people actually wanted when it comes to electric cars.”

“They didn’t want a piggy bank,” he said. “They want a performance car, with a lot of luxury, and they will pay for it.”