2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS enters production at Germany’s Factory 56
The luxurious all-electric sedan is slated for Australian arrival in December this year.
The upcoming 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS – effectively an all-electric alternative to the S-Class luxury sedan – has entered production at the brand’s high-tech Factory 56 in Sindelfingen, Germany.
Parent company Daimler claims the €2.1 billion (AU$3.3B) 220,000 square metre facility – which began building the S-Class late last year – is "100 per cent carbon neutral", thanks to a large collection of solar panels and a 1400kWh energy storage system.
A spokesperson for the brand in Australia told Drive: "The EQS is a landmark vehicle for Mercedes-Benz ... At this stage production for our market is due to start in the third quarter of this year, with first local arrivals set for the fourth quarter."
In range-topping (for now) EQS 580 4Matic guise, the sedan’s dual motors send 385kW/855Nm to the road. This allows the 0-100km/h sprint to be completed in a claimed 4.3 seconds, on the way to a software-capped top speed of 210km/h.
An even quicker AMG variant is also expected to follow.
Two lithium-ion battery packs are available, offering 90kWh and 107.8kWh respectively. The larger of the two permits up to 770 kilometres between charges on the WLTP cycle (when fitted to rear-wheel-drive variants), making it the second longest-range electric vehicle on the market, with the yet-to-be-launched Tesla Model S Plaid+ claiming "over" 837km.
The 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS is expected to arrive in Australian showrooms in December 2021. Local pricing will be confirmed closer to the launch date.