At up to S$753,888 apiece, the Mercedes’ EQS tests the market for bling and batteries

MERCEDES-Benz Singapore officially launches the EQS on Thursday (Jul 28) at its concept store in Great World City, and at up to S$753,888 apiece, the new limo is set to test car buyers’ appetite for bling and batteries here.

That price, which includes the Certificate Of Entitlement as well an emissions rebate and EV incentive, is for the Mercedes-AMG EQS 53, a high-performance version with twin motors and 761 horsepower. The sleek 5-seater accelerates to 100 km/h in a Ferrari-like 3.4 seconds. “When you drive this vehicle, you will understand that it’s worth every dollar,” Claudius Steinhoff, the president and chief executive of Mercedes-Benz Singapore, told The Business Times.

The EQS 450+ variant, which is less sporty, costs S$527,888. It’s slower but hardly slow, wafting to 100 km/h in 6.2 seconds. Its trump card is the ability to cover 762 km on a single charge, making it a long-distance champ in the EV world.

High-end variants of the Porsche Taycan are the priciest EVs here, but those cars are built with more emphasis on speed than space. In contrast, the Mercedes has room in the back for users to kick back and relax; the EQS 450+ even has rear seats that recline.

Although sometimes described as the “S-Class of electric cars”, the EQS shares very little under the skin with Mercedes’ traditional flagship model. Instead of being converted from a combustion car, it is the first Mercedes built on a new, dedicated platform for EVs. That gives it its distinct proportions and a shape that slips through the air, which cuts both energy consumption and noise.

Steinhoff declined to say how many people have ordered an EQS, but told The Business Times that a “handful” of early buyers have already collected their cars. He said they placed their orders as soon as the car was homologated in order to be the very first to be seen in the EQS. Bling and batteries aside, bragging rights count for something, too.