Mercedes EQC Electric SUV ‘OFFICIAL’ Spy Shots – the Jaguar i-Pace competition to come

The Mercedes-Benz EQC Electric SUV is on the way, so Mercedes has released a single photo of their new EV SUV to remind us the Jaguar i-Pace will have competition.

We’re sure it’s entirely coincidental that Mercedes has decided to release an official ‘Spy’ photo of their new electric SUV just as the Jaguar i-Pace is revealed.

The Mercedes electric SUV is the Mercedes EQC (that’s ‘EQC’ and not ‘EQ C’), and its arrival, probably later this year in production guise, will throw Mercedes hat in to the ring of Premium Electric SUVs, joining the Jaguar i-Pace to take the fight to Tesla.

Mercedes ‘reason’ for delivering a ‘spy’ photo of the EQC just as Jaguar reveal the i-Pace is to let us know the EQC has successfully undergone severe winter testing and come out with a definite ‘A’ grade result.

Those tests, in Arjeplog in Lapland, mean icy temperatures down to -35C (and you thought it had been cold in the UK this week?) on special test tracks, handling courses, skid pans and hill climbs, a total of over 500 tests including EV specific ones like cold starting with cold batteries and the performance of the batteries and cabling in such extremes.

In a bit of a self interview, Mercedes EQC Chief Engineer, Michael Kelz, says the EQC is dynamic and powerful, but a quiet cruiser, has a safe feel when driving but is so much fun it puts a smile on the driver’s face. Not that you’d expect him to say any different.

Mercedes aren’t telling us exactly what powers the EQC, but it’s thought the EV side of the specs are going to be remarkably close to those of the Jaguar i-Pace, which will mean a pair of electric motors delivering around 395bhp, four-wheel drive, a 300 mile range and a 90kW battery pack.

Mercedes has said the EQC won’t hit the market until 2019, but it does seem likely we’ll see a ‘Concept’ version at Geneva next week.