One of the steering wheels and digital dashboards of the all-electric Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV was found at the opening of the Mercedes-Benz Electric Vehicle Battery Factory, out of seven locations that manufacture batteries for fully electric Mercedes EQ models. It is one. , March 15, 2022, in Woodstock, Alabama. (Elijah Nouvelage / Reuters)
Berlin-Mercedes-Benz announced the EQS Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) on Tuesday. This is a 660 km (410 mile) range car manufactured in the United States and launched by the fall.
Production of the EQS, the second electric SUV after the premium car maker EQC, will begin this year at its Tuscaloosa, Alabama plant.
According to sales chief Britta Seeger, the United States and Canada are expected to be major markets for new cars, but will be available in Europe by the end of the year.
Mercedes-Benz hasn’t revealed how much a new SUV will sell, although existing EQS electric sedans start at around $ 103,000 in the United States.
Trucks and SUVs accounted for three-quarters of new car sales in the U.S. market last year, a challenge for automakers seeking to reduce carbon dioxide emissions while meeting customer demand for heavy-duty vehicles. increase.
Mercedes-Benz opened its first US electric vehicle battery plant in Tuscaloosa in March to localize its production chain.
The company sold 21,900 fully electric vehicles worldwide in the first quarter of 2022. This was three times the same period last year, even though overall shipments of all vehicles fell by 15%.
Only 2.3% of Mercedes-Benz car sales last year were battery-powered electric vehicles, up to 11%, including plug-in hybrid vehicles with both engines and batteries.
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