Yash
More and more car manufacturers are coming up with the EV to provide environmentally friendly solutions.
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer that deals in the luxury car and commercial vehicle segment.
It has over 22 factories spreading across the world. To name a few countries:
Australia, Argentina, Austria, Canada, Denmark, China, UK, USA, India (Pune), and many others.
It released its first EV model in India as Mercedes-Benz EQC in 2019.
This EV model of Mercedes suits those who want elegant solutions and care about the environment.
What is Mercedes EQC?
Mercedes EQC is the first electric compact luxury SUV car by Mercedes. It was launched in the year 2019.
(i) Battery: 80 kW-hr
It uses a Lithium-ion battery with a usable capacity of 80 kW-hr.
The battery capacity tells you the amount of energy stored in it.
That gives you an indication that how far your EV can run on the roads.
More battery capacity, the farther you can go to your destination.
80 kW-hr with 8 years warranty
Battery Capacity
The battery size of the Mercedes EQC is 80 kW-hr
This is equivalent to running 1-ton ac continuously for 80 hours.
Mercedes EQC offers 8 year or 1,60,000 km (whichever is earlier) battery warranty.
(ii) Range: 361 km to 420 km
Once fully charged, this luxury SUV can run 361 to 420 km in one go.
Why do we see the maximum (420 km) and minimum (361 km) values of the range?
- The range of any EV depends on your driving style, road conditions, weather conditions, and more. And these parameters vary.
Hence, we see EV range in maximum and minimum value.
And this causes variation in energy consumption.
That we’ll find in the following section.
(iii) Energy consumption of Mercedes EQC: (0.19 to 0.22) kW-hr/km
We can find the energy consumption in kW-hr per km.
If we know the battery capacity and the range of the EV.
The formula is:
Energy consumption = Battery capacity/Range
Here in the case of EQC,
Its energy consumption
= 80 kW-hr/ (361 km to 420 km)
0.19 kW-hr/km to 0.22 kW-hr/km
Energy consumed per km
(iv) Charging Options
Although, EVs are the need of the hour.
We have limited charging stations across the country.
But we can see efforts in setting up the charging stations.
And Tata has a network of over 1000 charging stations across the country.
Also, for their NEXON EV users, Tata has developed an app that shows essential features like battery charging status.
And also assists them in finding the nearest EV charging station based on their current location.
Coming back to the EQC, to compensate for the limited charging stations.
It offers multiple charging options:
(a) Wall box:
The EQC team will install the wall box at the right point in your home. This wall box has a charging capacity of 11 kW.
It means it can charge your vehicle battery full in
80 kW-hr/11 kW = 7 to 8 hours
Also, you can charge your vehicle from the normal supply of 220 volts. But this will take longer to charge the battery.
(b) AC and Dc charging stations
- In addition, you can charge EQC from both public AC and DC charging stations.
The EVs batteries need a direct current for charging.
However, the household sockets and the public charging stations provide alternating current (ac).
Therefore, to make the charging possible, the EVs are equipped with built-in chargers that convert AC to DC.
And charges the battery of the vehicle.
Mercedes EQC has such a built-in charger in it.
(v) Price of Mercedes EQC
The EQC price starts at Rs. 99,50,000/-
(The final price depends on factors such as the additional accessories, parts, and products, availed by the customer. And the taxes paid, duties, fees, levies, registration, etc.)
(v) Daily energy consumption of Mercedes EQC: (6.65 – 7.7) kW-hr
How much charge you need daily, largely depends on your commuting time.
If you drive more daily.
You need more charge inside the battery to cover that distance.
Let me quantify using the average data for India.
On average, an Indian commute around 35 km a day.
I’ll use this data for calculating the charge needed in the battery to support this much distance.
We know that for energy consumed per km,
It is = capacity/range
And
For energy required in the battery to support 35 km it is
= (capacity/range) x 35 km
Putting the values provided by Mercedes EQC, the daily charge required in the battery to cover 35 km:
= (80 kW-hr/361 to 420) x 35 km
= 6.65 kW-hr to 7.7 kW-hr
I am making it one value by taking the average of the two.
(6.65 kW-hr + 7.7 kW-hr) = 14.35/2 = 7.2 kW-hr.
Therefore, I need a 7.2 kW-hr charge available daily inside the battery.
So that it can support 35 km.
What percentage of battery capacity do I need daily?
It is (7.2 kW-hr/80 kW-hr) x 100% = 9%
This means if I keep my average the same.
This EQC once fully charged can make you travel for 11 days without a recharge.
But
This is a theoretical value.
(a) Factors that affect energy consumption
In a practical world, things are different. Your vehicle tends to consume more energy.
- Stuck in a traffic jam with ignition ON
- Sometimes accelerating more than required, consumes extra energy.
- Bad road conditions make your vehicle extract more energy than normal from the battery.
- Changes in the weather conditions
- Frequent applying of brakes
- More use of air conditioner
- And many other situations
When factoring in all the above conditions, your battery can support 8 to 9 days.
Does this mean you charge the battery after every 8 or 9 days?
This does not sound good to me.
Rather I prefer to charge daily and re-fill the energy that I have consumed on that day.
The energy extracted in 1 day from the battery is 7.2 kW-hr.
(It is when I travel 35 km on that day. Remember, we are working on the averages.
Your energy needs can be more or less).
How about re-filling this energy need from solar?
This makes the Mercedes EQC environment friendly in 2 ways:
- First, using emission-free electric battery
- Charging it with renewable energy sources like Solar
Let us size the solar panels.
Power Mercedes EQC with Solar
(i) Good Sunshine
India is a sun-rich country with a daily average of over 5 Peak Sun Hours or over 5000 W/m² in a day.
(1 PSH = 1000 W/m²).
Don’t get confuse 5 PSH with sun hours in the sky.
The sun remains in the sky for around 10 – 12 hours a day in India.
But you don’t get 1000 W/m² every hour.
Sometimes you get 200 W/m², 300 W/m², 450 W/m², and the values keep changing throughout the day.
In the morning, the sunlight intensity is the lowest.
Thereafter, it starts increasing and reaches the maximum around noon.
Thereafter, it starts reducing and again reaches the minimum during sunset.
It is the total sunlight intensity from sunrise to sunset that gives us 5000 W/m² or 5 PSH.
And it is a very good value.
That makes solar technically feasible and financially attractive.
The formula for sizing the solar panels is:
Solar Panel Size = 1.4 x (Energy required/PSH)
(ii) Factors that affect solar power output
1.4 is the multiplier that is used to factor in or compensate for the losses in the system. These could be:
- Shading losses
- Dirt loss
- Temperature related losses
- Conversion loss
- Transfer loss
- Age-related losses, and other losses.
(iii) Sizing the solar panels for Mercedes EQC
Putting in all the values in the formula, the panel size for Mercedes EQC can provide 7.2 kW-hr energy.
And supports 35 km distance is:
= 1.4 x (7.2 kW-hr / 5 hr)
= 2 kW solar panels 6 panels of 320 watts can provide enough energy to charge your Mercedes EV for daily driving of 35 km.
(iv) The Payback
Now, you are taking energy from solar panels.
Let’s see the payback of the solar power system.
I have the following values and assumptions:
- A 2-kW solar power system may cost you Rs. 1,40,000.
- I am assuming the cost of electricity as Rs. 8 per unit
- A 2-kW system will produce 7.2 units in a day.
I am using solar to charge the battery.
Thus, saving money that otherwise I would be paying to the grid.
I am saving 7.2 kW-hr x Rs. 8/kW-hr = Rs. 58/- per day
And around Rs. 21,000 in 1 year.
That is a good amount of money.
And
My payback is = solar system cost/amount saved annually)
Payback = Rs. 1,40,000/Rs. 21,000 = 6.7 years.
Thereafter, the energy is free to use.
It means this takes solar 7 years to payback of what I have invested (Rs. 1,40,000) today.
Yes, you can charge your EV with Solar. It is financially attractive.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. This means that I get commissions on successful buying after clicking on the links. However, I fully recommend these cars when it comes to luxury electric vehicles.
The battery capacity of similar EVs
| Parameters | Mercedes EQC | BMW iX | Audi e-Tron | Jaguar I-pace | |
| Battery Capacity (full) (in kW-hr) | 85 | 76.6 | 95 | 90 | |
| Battery Capacity (usable) (in kW-hr) | 80 | 71 | 86.5 | 84.7 | |
| Battery Warranty (years) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
| Range (in km) | 361 – 420 | 425 | up to 484 | up to 470 | |
| Price | Rs. 99,50,000 | Rs. 1.16 crore | Rs. 1.01 crore | Rs. 1.2 crore | |
| Latest Price | check out | explore it | glance it | have a look |
Key Takeaways
- Mercedes EQC has a usable battery capacity of 80 kW-hr.
- With a warranty of 8 years or 1,60,000 km (whichever is earlier)
- It has a range of 361 km to 420 km
- Price: Rs. 99,50,000
- Multiple charging options: Wall box, public Ac, and DC charging stations
- A 2-kW solar power system is sufficient to charge an EQC battery that can run for 35 km.
- A 2-kW Rs. 1,40,000 solar can pay back in 7 years.
Mercedes EQC is a good choice for people who are looking for an environment-friendly luxury SUV.
