Kiwi details, pricing confirmed for Mercedes’ cheapest electric car

Following the January unveiling of the Mercedes-Benz EQA and the confirmation that it would be hitting New Zealand, more details concerning the model’s local release have been announced.

The three-pointed star has confirmed that the 250 variant of the model will be sold locally. It’s set to arrive in June, and will be priced from $85,500. There will also be an Edition 1 package sold in New Zealand, for $92,700.

That pricing is curious, as it means the model will be sold a touch cheaper than its nearest petrol equivalent; the $87,500 GLA 250 4Matic. This makes it arguably the first electric car sold in New Zealand to have some form of price parity relative to its internal combustion siblings.

As previously reported, the 250 comes with a 140kW electric motor paired to a ‘double decker’ 66.5kWh lithium-ion battery, sending drive to the front wheels. This is good for a claimed NEDC range of 486km (note that no WLTP range has been released thus far for the 250. WLTP figures are generally more conservative than NEDC figures).

Mercedes has already said that it’s working on all-wheel drive variants of the EQA with longer range and better performance. One model, it claims, will sport a WLTP-rated 500km range. The EQA is capable of 100kW DC fast charging, during which it can be charged from 10 per cent to around 80 per cent in just 30 minutes.

Standard features fitted to the EQA 250 locally include a 10.25-inch central touchscreen, a 10.25-inch digital driver’s cluster, a power tailgate, wireless phone charging, heated electronically adjustable front seats, Artico upholstery, and Mercedes’ proprietary Disctronic and Parktronic active features.

“Mercedes-EQ aspires to take the lead in the field of electric drive systems and vehicle software. To this end, we have defined some ambitious product development goals and resolved to push forward with the accelerated market introduction of new technologies,” says Mercedes-Benz AG’s Markus Schäfer.

“The new EQA allows us to show the way we envisage e-mobility as tailored to the needs of our customers. We will offer a whole family of EQA models, with output ranging from 140 through to more than 200kW, and with front-wheel as well as all-wheel drive.

“For those for whom the issue of range is particularly important, our portfolio will in due course also include a special version of the EQA with a radius of more than 500 kilometres according to WLTP1. The EQA proves that, by using a tried and tested architecture, it is possible to achieve an excellent compromise between performance, costs and time to market.”