Mercedes-Benz’s first EQ-series battery electric vehicle, the EQC SUV, went on sale last week with a starting price of 579,800 yuan ($82,830).
The vehicle, produced at Daimler’s joint venture with BAIC Motor Co. in Beijing, qualifies for a subsidy of 16,000 yuan and an exemption from China’s 10 percent vehicle sales tax, Mercedes-Benz’s local sales company said.
The EQC has a range of about 415 kilometers.
Mercedes-Benz has selected 59 franchised dealerships in 19 cities across China to distribute and service the EQC. It also plans to open two experience centers in Shanghai and one in Beijing for the EQ series before the end of the year.
Audi has also shipped the first batch of its first battery electric vehicle, the e-tron SUV, from Germany to China.
FAW-Volkswagen, a joint venture between China FAW Group Corp. and VW Group, has started taking orders for the imported vehicle with a tentative starting price of 700,000 yuan.
Local production of the e-tron will begin at FAW-VW’s plant in the northeast China city of Changchun sometime next year, Audi said.
Next year, BMW will also start selling its first battery EV, the iX3. The electric SUV will be built at BMW Group’s partnership with Brilliance China in the northeast China city of Shenyang.
