Top luxury car brand’s very first electric SUV discontinued after only five years on sale… without replacement lined up
A TOP luxury car brand has discontinued it’s very first electric SUV – with no replacement lined up.
Battery-powered 4x4s are rapidly becoming the dominant model type across Europe, but one manufacturer is slimming down its lineup.
Mercedes has dropped the EQC from its retail offering with little fanfare.
There was no significant announcement from the brand, with the model simply no longer being available to purchase.
According to AutoExpress, the decision was made as the EQC struggled to keep up with newer competitors, including from within Mercedes’ own range.
The model was introduced in 2019 with few rivals, but the pace of development in the electric SUV category has been brutal since then.
Virtually every large carmaker now offers some form of electric SUV or crossover, many of which came in well below the Merc’s £74,000 price tag.
For example, Brits can pick up a brand new Polestar 4 for around £59,000 or a Volvo EX30 for as little as £34,000.
The range was also limited to 255 miles which, while decent for an average EV, now pales in comparison to the over 300-mile battery packs offered by other luxury models.
Production of the EQC was halted in the middle of last year, but it has now been removed from Mercedes’ website.
No direct replacement has been named yet, with only the existing EQB, EQE and EQS models on sale.
A potential successor has been spotted in testing, but there is no information on its name or pricing yet.
The new car isn’t expected to arrive until mid-2025.
It comes after a rival electric SUV saw its price slashed by thousands despite a range boost in its new form.
Meanwhile, it was revealed that another brand’s “flagship” offering in the category may be missing key features when it launches, despite costing £94,000.