Mercedes-Benz launches EQ brand in India
The launch of EQ brand underlines Mercedes-Benz India's strategic initiative in the EV domain to establish luxury electric motoring in the country.
India on Tuesday announced its entry in the electric space in the Indian market with the launch of its EQ brand.
The luxury carmaker plans to come out with its first fully electric vehicle EQC in April 2020.
The launch of EQ brand underlines Mercedes-Benz India's strategic initiative in the EV domain to establish luxury electric motoring in the country, the company said.
"The first vehicle that the brand as such as a full EV been able to deliver or aiming to deliver is the EQC, a sporty SUV, which has been unveiled today," Martin Schwenk, MD and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India said.
EQ is the brand which Mercedes has grouped and bundled all activities around electrification.
It has three different variations -- EQ Boost, EQ Power, and EQ itself. And it goes with the electrification of portfolios from mild-hybrid to plug-in hybrid and full electric vehicles.
"With the launch of EQ, we firmly announce Mercedes-Benz's arrival into the new era of electric mobility. We want the EQ brand to create an ecosystem in which electric mobility is reliable, simple, and at the same time exciting," he said.
Stating that Mercedes-Benz India is gradually but truly building the footprint with the brand, and EQ as well as with the EV, Schwenk said the biggest first step in that direction is all-electric EQC.
"The 'EQ' brand is a key pillar of our 'Sustainable Luxury' objective and is the first dedicated luxury electric brand in India. We felt the time was right to introduce the EQ brand in India.
"We are confident that EQ will lay a strong foundation for our electric ambition in India, which will see further expansion of our green cars portfolio and also for our future," he said.
EQC edition1886 is essentially very close to the car that will be introduced in April, he said.
Schwenk said Mercedes Benz India sees a gradual growth at a measured pace in its EV portfolio going forward.
He said at the global scale, there will be as many as 10 electric models that are being made available in the next two to three years, there will also be more hybrid vehicles in the portfolio of both Mercedes-Benz and Daimler AG.
"So, we are trying to see what fits India. But right now, I have no clear decisions or plans how we address them in the next two to four years," he said.
According to Schwenk a lot of things would depend on issues such as infrastructure, regulatory framework, among others, going forward.
"If there is some support for plug-in hybrids, it will make a case for customers to buy a plug-in hybrid car. If it is treated the same as a car with a combustion engine or like normal petrol or diesel car, it does not make a sense for both the customers and the manufacturer," he said.
(Edited by Suman Singh)
