New Mercedes GLC offers plug-in and play option
After a total redesign, could the popular SUV push plug-in hybrid technology into the mainstream here?
CAN’T decide if your next car should be electric or combustion? The latest Mercedes-Benz to hit town sets out to make the question redundant.
Mercedes-Benz Singapore launched the new GLC-Class on Thursday night (May 4) at a private party for 300 guests at the brand’s showroom on Alexandra Road.
The five-seat sport utility vehicle (SUV) is the single best-selling Mercedes model around the world, and has undergone a total redesign.
It offers new features, such as augmented-reality navigation guidance and an optional all-wheel steering system that makes it more manoeuvrable in tight spots.
But the most intriguing new option is under the bonnet. Two versions are now on sale – the GLC 300 and GLC 300e – and both have 2.0-litre turbo engines, but the latter has a motor and enough battery capacity for up to 138 kilometres of pure electric range.
With normal charging, it takes a little under three hours to top off its battery from 10 per cent, but a fast charger can take its battery pack from 10 to 80 per cent in as little as 20 minutes.
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Like other plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), the GLC 300e’s combustion engine is there for long-distance trips, sustained high speeds and bursts of maximum acceleration. Working together, the engine and motor push out 313 horsepower.
The more conventional GLC 300 caters to the traditional car buyer, but it does come with some electrification as well. It has a mild-hybrid setup designed to reduce fuel consumption by using a small motor to assist the engine.
The GLC 300’s price starts at S$389,888, which includes the Certificate Of Entitlement (COE). The GLC 300e lists for S$398,888 and up, meaning its plug-in technology comes at a S$9,000 premium.
Claudius Steinhoff, the president and chief executive of Mercedes-Benz Singapore, said at a media preview for the car that one reason for launching the GLC 300e here is that consumers are interested in electric cars but feel uncertain about making the switch.
“There is still a customer group that says: ‘I don’t know if I’m ready to go all the way, to go into a full electric vehicle’,” he said. “And we feel that a plug-in hybrid is a great bridging technology.”
PHEVs have yet to take off in Singapore, and account for a tiny fraction of sales. Just 51 plug-ins were registered here in the first three months of 2023, out of 6,493 total car registrations.
But the plug-ins that have gone on sale here struggle to cover a meaningful distance on pure electric power, with most providing less than 50 km of range.
Newer models can travel much further, and cars such as the GLC 300e could help to usher the technology into the mainstream.
“There is one big difference in the plug-in hybrids today versus a few years ago, and that’s the range,” said Steinhoff. “I mean, we have more than 100 km...
“It is actually good enough for most of the daily usage here in Singapore,” he added. “I would say this is a car you’d have to charge maybe every four days or so.”
Another reason he might be bullish on the car’s prospects is that Mercedes accounted for 41 per cent of the PHEV market here in the first quarter of the year, giving it the largest share by far. The brand is hoping that the new GLC’s long range will lengthen that lead.
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