Mercedes-Benz is staging the “Mercedes-Benz EQ Tech Day 2018“ at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Bangkok, featuring its EQA electric concept car.
Roland Folger, president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz (Thailand) Ltd, said, “As we look to the future, artificial intelligence is a key issue for us. This applies to all sectors of the business – development, production and the use of vehicles, as well as mobility services and communication. Artificial intelligence and digitalization open new opportunities for Daimler in all fields of the CASE strategy. CASE describes the four trends which are set to fundamentally alter the concept of mobility; Connected, Autonomous, Shared & Service and Electric Drive.”
“Our new EQ brand goes far beyond electric vehicles. EQ stands for a comprehensive electric ecosystem of services, technologies and innovations. By 2022, Daimler will electrify the entire portfolio of Mercedes-Benz, offering customers at least one electrified alternative in all Mercedes-model series. The company is planning to offer more than 50 electrified vehicle variants – in all segments, from smart to large SUVs,” he said.
“Today is another big step for us to unveil Mercedes-Benz Concept EQA in Thailand. It is an outstanding vehicle showcasing our plan for future compact vehicle models when they are mated with our EQ strategy. The EQA is grounded on our well-developed architecture for pure electric vehicles so it gives impressive agility and a fascinatingly long driving range—suitable for daily use,” Folger added, saying that is has a range of 400kms from its 60kWh lithium-ion battery.
In addition to the introduction of new models under EQ Power brand, Mercedes-Benz is also focusing on production and service of electric vehicles.
“One of our plan is the construction of battery production in Bangkok as a part of the global battery production network of Mercedes-Benz cars for local demand and export. In total, Daimler will invest $1.18 billion (more than one billion euros) in the battery production network, which will also include production facilities in Germany, USA, and China,” he said.
Local production of batteries by Mercedes-Benz in Thailand is planned to start by 2019.
“Another one of our strategic priorities for electric vehicle business is to build an electric ecosystem that covers every customer’s need. By building an extensive network of charging stations, we can meet the demands of customers based on their lifestyle and behavioral changes towards electric driving. The customers will, for instance, expect a greater variety of convenient charging points in addition to charging in their home garage, at Mercedes-Benz authorized dealers, shopping centers and hotels. This expansion will result in the provision of around 200 electric vehicle charging stations from Mercedes-Benz, including at 32 authorized dealers nationwide and leading hotels under Marriott International, Minor Hotels, and Hilton brand, and shopping centers, such as Siam Centre, Central World, and Paradise Park, and there will be more in the plan to follow to serve with the growing popularity of our EQ Power vehicles,” he concluded.
