The new Mercedes-Benz EQS sedan has its sights set high and appears to be delivering a direct hit against the Tesla Model S.
Set to debut later this year, the influential German magazine Auto Motor und Sport summed up the first review of the all-electric equivalent of the familiar S-Class by declaring the new EQS “the best electric car in the world.” Almost simultaneously, analysts with Swiss bank UBS said the Teutonic battery car tops the Model S on a number of key fronts.
“While EQS falls short of Tesla’s acceleration and top speed, the high range and the overall luxury experience make the car a very strong competitor to Model S,” the bank’s analysts declared.
Long reluctant to enter the battery-car space, Mercedes has done an about face and now plans to invest 70 billion euros, or $83 billion, in the technology by 2025. It has already rolled out several models in Europe and China but the new EQS will become its first truly global offering, set to become the first long-range BEV Mercedes will bring to the United States this coming autumn.
“This car, in itself, won’t make or break Mercedes-Benz, but it has to live up to all the expertise buyers expect from a Mercedes,” Stephanie Brinley, principal auto analyst with IHS Markit, told TheDetroitBureau.com when the EQS had its formal unveiling in April.
Pushing the boundaries
The battery car adopts a radical new “one-box” design that is meant to distinguish the EQS from existing models like the also-new 2021 S-Class. The styling also put a premium on reducing range-stealing wind drag. And because the drivetrain has been moved into a skateboard-like platform, some space normally devoted to an engine compartment has been repurposed for passengers and cargo.
The interior adopts an equally radical new design and the car can be ordered with the new Hyperscreen technology, with displays stretching from pillar to pillar.
The “base” EQS 450+ will feature a single, rear-mounted electric motor generating 329 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque. The EQS 580 4Matic will add a motor on the front axle and bump that up to 516 hp and 611 lb-ft — enough to launch from 0-60 in 4.1 seconds.
As for charging, the 107.8 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack can boost range by nearly 200 miles in 15 minutes and go from a 10% state-of-charge to 80% in 31 minutes using one of the newer 400V DC public quick-chargers, according to Mercedes. While not quite as quick as the Porsche Panamera which can access 800-volt systems, the EQS will deliver substantially quicker charging than the Model S, UBS analyst Patrick Hummel pointed out.
A more efficient drive system
He also highlighted the efficiency of the electric drive system. At highway speeds, the EQS uses about 15.8 kWh of energy per 100 kilometers, or 25.3 kWh per 100 miles. The Tesla is rated at 33 kWh for the same distance — though the numbers are a bit misleading, as the initial estimates for the EQS are based on the European WLTP test cycle. But that is expected to come in at around 30 kWh/100 miles when tested by the EPA.
Likewise, the EQS isn’t expected to get the same 478-mile range estimate it has for Europe. But it’s likely to near, if not beat, the longest-range Tesla Model S at 402 miles.
Tesla does have a price advantage, a base version of the Model S starting around $79,000. The EQS is expected to come in around $110,000 to start, with a loaded version $189,000. The new Tesla Model S Plaid starts around $131,000
If the EQS lives up to expectations, it could pose a serious challenge for Tesla — the U.S. automaker already starting to lose sales in the face of growing competition. In Europe, its share of the fast-growing European EV market fell from 31% to 13% from 2019 to 2020, according to industry data.
Tesla facing serious competition for the first time
The Model S, in particular, is facing the threat of new alternatives. That includes traditional brands as well as offerings from start-ups like the Lucid Air launching around the end of this year.
The Model S sedan, as well as the comparably sized and priced Model X SUV, have seen a sharp decline in sales, but that comes as Tesla’s newer, more affordable Model 3 sedan and Model Y SUV gain traction. The automaker has hinted it will deliver record global sales for the second quarter.
But, even there, it faces plenty of new competition. Mercedes is entering the fray with products like the EQB and EQC battery cars. BMW recently launched the new iX and i4, and there will soon be a range of additional competitors coming from the likes of Volkswagen, Cadillac and others.
Why do you think they are tesla killer? Their electric cars take their brother ice cars sales. I wish I did not listen your options about teslar killers 2 years ago. I was about to invest 20.000 but I did not because of your article about tesla killers. My friend who did not read your options invested 30.000 at the same time. Now I am willing to invest 20.000 to tsla again but here you are with article about tsla killers. What do I have to do with 20.000 I saved for tsla. My friend is on the verge of millionaire. He does not bother with your article. Who is wiser me or my friend??!!
Hi, Kim,
1) Anyone with that money to invest should be looking at multiple sources before making a decision.
2) The headline says something very different than what you claim: “Tesla Fighter.” Very different from “Tesla Killer.”
3) I’d like to have the link to the story you reference as I do not recall referencing “Tesla Killer” two years ago.
4) If your friend had invested $30,000 on July 5, 2019, about the low point for Tesla stock at $46.62, he would have had a solid 1,600% jump in value. That would make his money worth about $480,000 today. A nice jump but he’s not a millionaire.
Paul A. Eisenstein
Paul,
Please fact check.
It will always hurt your credibility when you publish obvious false statements.
1st then model “X” not “Y” is the suv sharing model s platform.
2nd in doing your earnings calculation, you neglected to account for the 5X Tesla stock split. Multiple the numbers by 5 and you will see that he is indeed a millionaire.
Facts are great, opinions are OK.
Falsehoods kill credibility!
MJ
Matt,
You should also be careful when doing YOUR math and then trying to fault someone!!!
1) The number I quoted for the 2019 stock price was adjusted to reflect the stock split! It was running around $230/share pre-split in July 2019. And that was the low point. It approached $70 (adjusted for post-split) by August. So, his increase today would be under 1,000 percent, putting him even further from the millionaire category.
2) As to “false” statements. I did make a TYPO in this paragraph:
“The Model S sedan, as well as the comparably sized and priced Model Y SUV, have seen a sharp decline in sales, but that comes as Tesla’s newer, more affordable Model 3 sedan and Model Y SUV gain traction. The automaker has hinted it will deliver record global sales for the second quarter.
And anyone reading it would seemingly recognize this WAS a typo as I noted that the Models 3 and Y were the “more affordable” Tesla products.
Now, typos should be avoided in writing…and should have been caught while editing. But they are clearly different from “false statements,” which imply either an effort to mislead or a lack of knowledge.
Making statements, as above, weaken opinions disguised as criticism.
I will now correct the typo.
Paul E.