Mercedes, Lincoln plan new vehicles for China

Mercedes-Benz debuted an electric vehicle on Wednesday at the New York International Auto show to woo Chinese, American and European customers.

The crossover called the EQC Edition 1886 was unveiled by the German carmaker, owned by Daimler AG, at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in Manhattan.

"For Mercedes overall, China is a very important market,'' Dietmar Exler, Mercedes-Benz CEO USA, told China Daily. "We always take our Chinese as well as our American and European customers into account when we design new vehicles.''

Also making its debut at the auto show, which runs from Friday until April 28, is Lincoln's Corsair, an entry-level crossover SUV that will be the automaker's first vehicle made in China for the Chinese market. It will be built with Ford joint ventures.

The Corsair replaces the MKC SUV. Its sleek exterior and interior take cues from Lincoln's larger Navigator and Aviator SUVs.

Ford, the second-largest automaker in the US, has long struggled in China. Total Ford China sales fell more than 36 percent in 2018, but Lincoln, which has been part of Ford since 1922, grew 2.2 percent.

All of the Lincolns sold in China have been imports. Building the Corsair locally will allow Lincoln to take advantage of cost savings and local expertise in certain areas, Lincoln President Joy Falotico said at a preview event

The Corsair is scheduled to launch this fall in the US. The models for sale in North America will be built at Ford's Louisville Assembly Plant in Kentucky.

Mercedes' EQC crossover signals a move by the 133-year-old carmaker toward making more electric vehicles.

The company plans to introduce 10 more electric models in the next year and says that 15 to 20 percent of its overall sales volume will be electric by 2035.

"Electric vehicles are a global trend. It's going on everywhere. Everyone is going toward electric vehicles. We are excited about bringing an electric vehicle to the market as well. And the EQC electric vehicles will be good for Mercedes as well," Exler said.

"It is the perfect combination to entice both existing and new owners who want their next Mercedes or their first Mercedes to be electric,'' he said at the auto show.

The EQC 1886 was named in honor of Karl Benz, who received his first patent for a three-wheeled car in 1886. That led to the formation of the company Daimler Benz and the Mercedes-Benz car company.

The 1886 edition will be launched in the US in 2020. It comes with a host of luxury details and showcases Mercedes history of sleek designs combined with future vision for electric vehicles. Both the interior and exterior of the vehicle are coordinated.

The car comes only in metallic high-tech silver paint, and has a black panel radiator, with black edges. The words "Edition 1886" are embroidered into the seats while the letters "EQC" are embroidered into the floor mats.

Like every EQC, the EQC Edition 1886 has a water-cooled on-board charger with an output of 7.4 kW. It can be charged with alternating current at home and at public charging stations.

It will use two electric motors, with a combined 402 horsepower and 564 pound-feet of torque. That means the EQC can get to 60 miles per hour in 4.9 seconds, the company said. Fully charged, the battery can cover 200 miles.

Charging at a Mercedes-Benz Wallbox is up to three times faster than at a domestic power socket, the company says. It is even faster with DC charging, which is standard for the EQC, with a suitable market-specific plug.

Britta Seeger, head of Mercedes-Benz cars marketing and sales, said the company is investing $1 billion into its Tuscaloosa, Alabama, plant to produce its GLE, GLS and GLE Coupe SUVs, as well as the C-Class sedan for North America. It will start producing SUV models of the EQ brand in Tuscaloosa at the beginning of the next decade.

"Construction in our Alabama plant is well underway. Overall investment in our Tuscaloosa plant will create up to 600 jobs in the area. In addition, we have already invested $6 billion in this location since 1995," Seeger said.

Mercedes aims to entice customers worldwide with style and modernity. But it will face stiff competition from Tesla, which has its Model Y car, and from Audi's E Tron vehicle set for release at the same time as the EQC 1886.