Mercedes-Benz SA says it plans to ramp up its electric vehicle (EV) production and charging infrastructure, as part of its e-mobility roadmap for 2022.
The German multinational automaker will introduce a range of five EVs to SA this year, through its flagship vehicle, the Mercedes EQ.
According to the automaker, this is part of a strategic push to position the brand as a global and local leader in the EV market.
The range for 2022 includes the EQA sport utility vehicles (SUVs) (May), the family-sized SUV EQB (July/August), the mid-sized EQC, (July/August), the electric business sedan EQE (October) and the luxury sedan EQS (September).
Mercedes-Benz announced its electrification strategy in July last year, noting that from 2025 onwards, all its newly-launched vehicle architectures will be electric-only, and customers will soon be able to choose an all-electric alternative for every model the company makes.
The company also aims to have plug-in hybrids make up more than 50% of its car sales by 2030.
Vehicle manufacturers across the globe have set ambitious targets to reduce carbon emissions as part of their e-mobility strategies, as the race to electric vehicles heats up.
Mark Raine, newly-appointed president of Mercedes-Benz Cars and co-CEO of Mercedes-Benz South Africa, notes the new strategy aims to leverage the brand’s strengths in the luxury space, while unlocking the potential of its speciality brands, namely AMG, Maybach and EQ.
While the EV market is still relatively small in SA, Raine says the company has created a strong growth strategy for the local market, to capitalise on what it sees as “growth market potential”.
“South Africa is not without its challenges in terms of the EV landscape; however with our customer-centric growth strategy curated towards the local market, significant interest has already been shown by potential customers for our EQ range.
“This interest is aided by the growth in the public charging grid, including national coverage on main routes, and the number of potential customers with existing renewable energy solutions (or considering these in the near-future). Based on these developments, we are confident the cars we bring into the country will find many happy owners.”
Although there is demand for EVs from South African customers, exorbitant prices have posed a serious threat to the local motor industry, according to a survey conducted by AutoTrader.
According to AutoTrader, EVs are more expensive in SA for a variety of reasons, including punitive import duties – levies cost as much as 25% in SA compared to 18% for internal combustion engine vehicles.
Other reasons include batteries being expensive to produce and a lack of consumer demand.
Raine says Mercedes is confident SA will see a strong uptake and growth in the luxury EV market over the next 12 to 24 months.
“Technology is the key to engineering a sustainable future. Mercedes-Benz Cars will collaborate with Grid Cars for public charging, and every EQ customer will additionally receive a complimentary Mercedes EQ wall charger, installed at a location of their choice.”
Raine added that 36 agent partners across SA have been appointed as retail and service partners for the Mercedes EQ. This will add to the public charging grid and also provide trained professionals at sales and aftersales levels to help overcome any reservations around issues like range anxiety.
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