[TusharK]

Mercedes-Benz launched two new electric SUVs in the Indian market. Sharing the stage with the EQA electric SUV was the EQB facelift. The updated EQB is available in two variants: EQB 250+ 7-seater and EQB 350 4Matic 5-seater, priced at Rs 70.90 lakh and Rs 77.50 lakh (ex-showroom) respectively.



The EQB facelift gets a few cosmetic changes on the outside. These include a revised front fascia with the Mercedes star in the centre, redesigned bumpers and a full-width LED taillight.

Inside, the electric SUV gets Mercedes’ new 3-spoke steering wheel with capacitive buttons, the latest MBUX infotainment system, a Burmester audio system and dual-zone automatic climate control.

In terms of safety features, the EQB is fitted with Level 2 ADAS, a 360-degree camera and 7 airbags.

The EQB 250+ variant comes with a 70.5 kWh battery, offering a range of 535 km. It powers a front-mounted electric motor that has an output of 187 BHP and 385 Nm.

The EQB 350 4Matic variant features a dual-motor setup with a combined output of 288 BHP and 520 Nm. It can cover 447 km on a single charge (WLTP cycle).

Link to Team-BHP news

[Precision]

A whole lot better deal for 4L more from the EQA.
EQA makes sense at ioniq5 money.

[L8ButV8]

Mercedes is using their electric models as an opportunity to (again) massively increase prices.

EQE SUV --> Priced on par with GLS
EQS Sedan (basically an E class) --> priced on par with S class
EQB --> Priced on par with GLC

Prices have been increasing rapidly starting 2018, when they brought Martin Schwenk (Asia CFO) in to restructure the India business and squeeze out $$$. Santosh Iyer is simply continuing these price increases-- and the cars aren't getting that much better. I expected better from him.

For example, take the E200-- it was priced at 60L at launch in 2017, and now it's 95L. It's pretty much the exact same car, with a few small changes thrown in.

I hope the market, and competition, cuts Mercedes to size.

[Cresterk]

Originally Posted by Precision

A whole lot better deal for 4L more from the EQA.
EQA makes sense at ioniq5 money.

That is on purpose. If the EQA was priced at 50L, the EQB would look expensive. Now the EQB looks like value for money. This is called the decoy pricing effect!

Originally Posted by L8ButV8

Mercedes is using their electric models as an opportunity to (again) massively increase prices.

EQE SUV --> Priced on par with GLS
EQS Sedan (basically an E class) --> priced on par with S class
EQB --> Priced on par with GLC

Prices have been increasing rapidly starting 2018, when they brought Martin Schwenk (Asia CFO) in to restructure the India business and squeeze out $$$. Santosh Iyer is simply continuing these price increases-- and the cars aren't getting that much better. I expected better from him.

For example, take the E200-- it was priced at 60L at launch in 2017, and now it's 95L. It's pretty much the exact same car, with a few small changes thrown in.

I don't really like it but I can't blame them when they keep setting best selling records every year. Apparently people are happy to pay the higher prices.

[sudiptaadhya]

Originally Posted by L8ButV8

Prices have been increasing rapidly starting 2018, when they brought Martin Schwenk (Asia CFO) in to restructure the India business and squeeze out $$$. Santosh Iyer is simply continuing these price increases-- and the cars aren't getting that much better. I expected better from him.

For example, take the E200-- it was priced at 60L at launch in 2017, and now it's 95L. It's pretty much the exact same car, with a few small changes thrown in.

I hope the market, and competition, cuts Mercedes to size.

Isn't it unreasonable to expect car prices to stay flat from 2017 to 2024?

1) You could do that by building tin cans within thinner sheet metal every year but the Germans will do that. The Germans don't care about volumes as much as about quality and technology. The consumers need to pay to fund the R&D - and that bill gets bigger every year

2) We expect our salary to go up 10% every year, right? Since 2017, the INR has lost 30% of its value (vs USD / EUR) and add to it a 20% inflation, and the price of the E200 seems pretty reasonable, no?

3) Lastly, Mercedes and BMW are niche cars, with a niche but steadily expanding customer base, and have a certain aspirational value. There will always be competition, but the equation of BYD / [any other name] vs Mercedes works very differently than Maruti vs Kia - it will never be material enough to force cost cuts

4) Lastly, I would any day prefer to buy a Mercedes where the resale value is great (as the sale price consistently increases every few months) rather than a Maruti or Tesla where the car prices get cut unpredictably

[L8ButV8]

Originally Posted by sudiptaadhya

Isn't it unreasonable to expect car prices to stay flat from 2017 to 2024?

1) You could do that by building tin cans within thinner sheet metal every year but the Germans will do that. The Germans don't care about volumes as much as about quality and technology. The consumers need to pay to fund the R&D - and that bill gets bigger every year

2) We expect our salary to go up 10% every year, right? Since 2017, the INR has lost 30% of its value (vs USD / EUR) and add to it a 20% inflation, and the price of the E200 seems pretty reasonable, no?

3) Lastly, Mercedes and BMW are niche cars, with a niche but steadily expanding customer base, and have a certain aspirational value. There will always be competition, but the equation of BYD / [any other name] vs Mercedes works very differently than Maruti vs Kia - it will never be material enough to force cost cuts

4) Lastly, I would any day prefer to buy a Mercedes where the resale value is great (as the sale price consistently increases every few months) rather than a Maruti or Tesla where the car prices get cut unpredictably

You bring up good points. My POV is:

The increase in prices seems too much. Typically, if a product is in production for 10 years, some input/manufacturing costs will reduce (tech gets older, components become older and cheaper etc), and on the contrary inflation will drive up some costs. For eg, when you see any device/gadget on sale for many years , prices generally stay flat/or marginally change over time. I believe Mercedes is being opportunistic in raising prices by 60% for the same E class over 7 years.

(1) I personally would not put German "quality" on a pedestal vis a vis "tin cans" from other manufacturers. We have an E class LWB that is a garage queen, because it keeps throwing up issues. We have spent several lakhs in maintenance over 5k km. Our Skoda Superb has chewed through several DSGs and a range of other components in 50k km. I personally find these cars painful, and uncomfortable to own, over the long term.

(3) You hit the nail on the head. The aspirational value of Merc makes it sell at even the current prices. In effect, the brand was underpriced in the 2010s (in hindsight) and the last two CEOs of Mercedes India are simply taking up prices to squeeze the max out of the golden goose.

(4) I hold a different POV here If I was to go back in time, I would get the Lexus ES300H instead of the E class. To me nothing supersedes peace of mind, especially as I use my cars less & keep them long. If I used my cars a lot, I would be even more concerned about reliability. Merc needs to learn from BMW on this front. And both need to learn from Toyota.

[sgmuser]

Originally Posted by sudiptaadhya

Isn't it unreasonable to expect car prices to stay flat from 2017 to 2024?

50% price increase in 7 years is a lot and that too in the luxury segment where the activity is lean compared to lower segments e.g. 7-12 lakhs. If I have a budget of 50 lakhs I can not buy a good luxury car at the moment. The lowest Merc or BMW cost 56-57 lakhs depends on the location. Audi Q3 costs 55 lakhs but could be had a little less depends on the discounts. The point is 50 lakhs can not buy a decent luxury/performance brand. The BMW X1 costed 45-50 lakhs (2 liter petrol/diesel) two years back now cost 63 (1.4 liter Petrol!) to 67 lakhs for a 2 liter 150hp (previously it was 190hp) oil burner. There is no way to rationlise these prices, all looks inflated and an economy collapse only bring everything back to the reality.

My brother is looking to buy a decent cross over Auto for sometime. with a 15 lakhs budget for a spacious 5 seater Automatic, He can not get one at this price point. The closest is a Maruti Grand Vitara Automatic that is around 16+ lakhs. A Creta Auto costs upwards 20 lakhs. Does this pricing reflect the salary market? No way. Job market is in very bad condition at the moment with lots and lots of job cuts all over the place. The after math of Covid kind of urged everyone to pull the trigger that it is now or never. When the sales go up the manufacturers started to increase the price simply. Add the Re weakening and inaction by Government (we are a majority importer) at it also to be blamed to a major extent.