Tesla is, without a doubt, gaining grounds in the world of electric vehicles. However, there have been many well-known car manufacturers that have begun making their own versions of electric cars. Mercedes-Benz is currently working on its new EV to take on Tesla.
This coming late September, at this year's Paris Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz is planning to lift the veils off its version of its all-new EV sedan.
David McCarthy, Senior Manager of Corporate Communications of Mercedes-Benz Australia, told this news to Australian publication Motoring.
McCarthy told the site that Tesla's main challenge "will be making the numbers of cars they say they are going to make in the time frame they say they are going to make them."
He further said that, while the easy part is selling an EV, the hard part is producing one, and "at a price someone is willing to pay."
Not A Tesla Killer?
With regard to the company's EV being a Tesla killer, McCarthy told Motoring: "I don't know, I haven't seen it yet." However, he added that the company is not doing it unless it thinks it could sell it.
Australia Range Anxiety
McCarthy, however, cautions that the local Australian market might still be anxious about electric cars. He said that Australia is a far different market than Europe or the United States. These countries normally have greater populations and urban densities, which makes charging EVs easier.
The acceptance of EVs might be one of the biggest hurdles that the company would be facing when it finally launches the car. However, since the technology is getting better, a possibility exists that it would not be that hard for the Australian market to embrace such changes.
Cruising Range, Price And Availability
The new EV by Mercedes-Benz is expected to come out by 2018. The firm's executive said that the car will be in a similar cruising range and price bracket as the Tesla Model S. This means that it could carry a price ranging from $150,000 through $200,000. Apart from these details, the car's exact specifications are still a mystery.
However, since it is a Mercedes, Tesla might have a good reason to be worried about it, said McCarthy.
Earlier teasers claimed that this offering from Mercedes-Benz is going to be a "dangerously fast" one that already excites quite a few car enthusiasts.
The company's all-electric sedan concept is going to be its first. Mercedes- Benz is already offering multiple hybrid models; as such, many people are also agog in seeing how the firm's EV sedan will compare with Tesla's Model S.
In related news, Tech Times reported last April that, in just a day of unwrapping the Tesla Model 3, the company managed to get 198,000 preorders, making the car one of the most coveted vehicles this year.
