The launch of the new EQS pure electric SUV has pushed Mercedes into the spotlight again. (Image source: Mercedes-Benz)
On the evening of the 19th, the new EQS pure electric SUV was launched in the world. In previous years, this was the night of Mercedes-Benz before the Beijing Auto Show, and although this year's Beijing Auto Show was postponed, the plan for simultaneous global releases has not changed. As a result, Mercedes-Benz's pure electric luxury products have become the focus again after the EQ "ABC" and the new EQS are grouped, due to the addition of the new EQS pure electric SUV. Prior to the launch, Titanium Media APP interviewed Christoph Starzynski, vice president of large-scale pure electric model architecture and electric drive development at Mercedes-Benz Group AG, who said that Mercedes-Benz has a clear competitive advantage when talking about competing with traditional luxury brands and the products of new forces.
Strength comes from DNA and a grasp of the future
In recent years, there has been a dispute over views – which are the advantages and disadvantages of traditional luxury brands and the products of Tesla and the new forces of Chinese car manufacturing? Especially in the past two years, with the batch listing of pure electric products of traditional giants, and Tesla's annual sales of almost one million, the relevant discussion has become more and more frequent.
As the "chief engineer" of Mercedes-Benz's electric vehicle product architecture, Kristoff Stadzinski is full of confidence in his own products, in his view, competitors do not have to distinguish whether they come from traditional brands or new forces, just play the advantages of Mercedes-Benz is enough.
As a century-old brand, the ability to control top quality in Mercedes-Benz DNA for a long time is an advantage that other brands can hardly achieve in a short period of time. Coupled with the "safety first" element in the core values, it has been consistent in Mercedes-Benz's pure electric vehicles, fuel vehicles and hybrid models, and has also become a moat for Mercedes-Benz in the fierce market competition.
Although it is a century-old brand, Mercedes-Benz has never rested on its laurels, and the "all-electric" strategy has won praise from the market and consumers. In this strategy, Mercedes-Benz does not need to make any trade-offs for the models produced on the pure electric platform, which can ensure that the advantages of the dedicated pure electric platform are fully utilized.
In addition, Mercedes-Benz continues to improve its software capabilities. The upcoming self-developed operating system MB.OS is a big step for Mercedes-Benz in the software driver. ADAS has also achieved excellent results in intelligent driver assistance systems, and Mercedes-Benz has become the first car manufacturer in the world to obtain international certification for conditional autonomous driving (L3 level) systems with its DRIVE PILOT pilot system. In many aspects such as power battery technology, Mercedes-Benz and its partners work together to strengthen internal self-research, have strong R&D centers in Germany and China, and are also working with technical talents around the world to promote the R&D process in related fields.
Mercedes-Benz stands on the basis of its own century-old brand and continues to forge ahead, which will also become the most powerful competitive advantage in the electric vehicle market in the future.
Models such as the new EQS pure electric SUV are from Mercedes-Benz's new pure electric platform. (Image source: Mercedes-Benz)
Mercedes-Benz's future platform is a platform that prioritizes electric vehicles
In Mercedes-Benz's "all-electric" strategy, the platform launched in the future will be the platform that prioritizes electric vehicles. Mercedes-Benz's upcoming Modular Architecture (MMA) platform designed for compact and mid-size vehicles, although it also has the ability to produce fuel vehicles, still has the highest priority for electric vehicle products. Kristov Stadzinski is tight-lipped about a lot of information when talking about this platform, saying that it is still in a highly confidential stage, and the only information that can be revealed is that this is a platform developed with electric vehicles as the first idea, and its products will inevitably be very different from the products of traditional fuel vehicle platforms in terms of atmosphere, visual effects and user experience.
Three years later in 2025, MB. EA、AMG. EA、VAN. EA's three pure electric model architecture platforms will become Mercedes-Benz's new pure electric platform. But this does not mean that the existing EVA platform or the new EQS that has just been released is technically lagging behind, and the EVA platform will continue to be updated and upgraded based on the latest technology. Kristov Stazinski said: "The EVA platform will remain a guiding light, with MB.EA, AMG. Together, new platforms such as EA continue to bring top-notch experiences to our customers. ”
In response to the needs of those performance car enthusiasts, Kristov Stazinski revealed that AMG. EA's high-performance, all-electric platform will satisfy their imagination of performance and control. In the future, Mercedes-Benz will create an independently developed AMG electric model based on the AMG.EA platform, which will bring more extreme performance.
The VISION EQXX concept car is the culmination of Mercedes-Benz's future electric vehicle product technology. (Image source: Mercedes-Benz)
Mercedes-Benz will always adhere to the "in China, for China"
In the face of the supply chain problems that have been affected since the new crown epidemic, whether it is the price increase of raw materials and power batteries, or the untimely supply of parts due to remote transportation, Mercedes-Benz has calmly responded. This benefits from its long-standing strategy of creating a localized supply chain in the production area of the car, whether it is the supply chain of batteries or batteries.
In Europe, Mercedes-Benz has partnered with the ACC (Automotive Cells Company); in the United States, It has also signed cooperation agreements with local suppliers; and in China, Mercedes-Benz is focused on building supply chain production "in China, for China". In addition to the supply chain, Mercedes-Benz also attaches great importance to the research and development capabilities in the local market, and has a very strong local research and development team in Beijing, which has also become a powerful means for Mercedes-Benz to meet the needs of local users in the Chinese market.
If you remove the logo on the steering wheel, the interior design of Mercedes-Benz is already very different from its predecessor. (Image source: Mercedes-Benz)
At the same time, Mercedes-Benz, like fuel vehicles in terms of electric vehicle products, has also launched different configurations for local users to choose from different markets around the world, some configurations are only for the Chinese market, and some configurations are only for the European market. This covers both the hardware side and the software and digital experience aspects. Taking the new EQS as an example, the launch of the MBUX super screen is more considered to the needs of the Chinese market, in China, the new EQS listed models are equipped with MBUX super screen as standard. For users in the Chinese market, Mercedes-Benz will pay special attention to digital experience, rear space and configuration and other related needs.
The above points have become the core competitiveness of Mercedes-Benz in China's huge and unique new energy vehicle market, which has also become the biggest confidence of Mercedes-Benz in the competition of luxury pure electric products.