By Otsile Kadiege

Pure electric, pure sophistication and modern luxury were the buzzwords at Mercedes-Benz South Africa’s EQ media event we recently attended. It wasn’t an official launch of the Mercedes-Benz EQ range in SA, instead MBSA shared a few information on their EQ vehicles and plans for their sub-brand in South Africa. We, however, had a preview of their entry-level Mercedes-Benz EQA 250 and also had a brief stint in the EQC 400 4Matic.

Last year Mercedes-Benz South Africa revealed via their website which EQ models we should expect in April 2022, however since then the automaker revealed the EQE and more EQS derivatives which required the German automaker’s local arm to make adjustments to local launch dates. Here are the dates of when and what we should expect this year:

Mark Raine, Head & Co-CEO at Mercedes-Benz Cars SA also announced non-EQ Mercedes-Benz cars we should expect this year, namely the all-new and locally built C-Class sedan launching this February, the updated Mercedes-AMG GT 4 Door Coupe, the ultra-luxurious Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, the recently launched Mercedes-AMG SL, as well as another addition to the current new S-Class range.

During the event, MBSA unveiled the all-new Mercedes-Benz EQA 250 which made its way to Mzansi late last year. We also had the opportunity to sample the EQC 400 4Matic. The EQC is an all-electric SUV that uses the same X253 platform used by the GLC. It has an 80 kWh lithium-ion battery making 299 kW and 760 Nm. Mercedes-Benz claims a 451 km electric range and an average energy consumption of 22.2 kWh/100 km. The AWD EQC 400 sprints from 0-100 km/h in 5.1 seconds and has a top speed of 180 km/h.

Our short-lived driving impressions of the latter are it’s almost soundless drive, magic carpet ride quality, instantaneous torque and different levels of regenerative braking, which rewired our brains. It’s also impeccably well built with high quality materials and unlike the latest EQ models, the interior design is very familiar.

Pricing and specifications of the abovementioned vehicles will be announced closer to each models respective launch date, however Mercedes-Benz SA did mention that all EQ models will come standard with a free wall-box which will be installed at the customers preferred location at no extra cost, as well as an 8 year battery warranty. Mercedes-Benz also announced they will be partnering with GridCars – a company which specialises in commercial and residential EV charge points.