Mercedes-Benz EQS To Be The First EV Built And Sold In Thailand - Coming This Year

Mercedes-Benz Thailand has confirmed that it will be launching Merc’s flagship Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) later this year. The EQS will go on sale as a locally-assembled version, to capitalise on the Thai’s government lucrative incentives for electric and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vehicles.

The EQS will be the first fully electric Mercedes to go on sale in Thailand, and the first market outside of Germany to locally assemble the vehicle.

Mercedes-Benz was amongst the first automakers to secure these incentives for their PHEV models and lithium-ion battery production, which now comes full circle with the introduction of the EQS.

The EQS’ introduction highlights two crucial factors – firstly Mercedes’ commitment to their global EV strategy and belief in these growth sectors within the Thai market, and secondly reaffirms the success of Thailand’s well-executed incentive systems in luring foreign automakers to invest in the EV market over there.

The EQS will be built at the Thonburi Automotive Assembly Plant (TAAP) in Samut Prakan. Mercedes-Benz, together with TAAP and Thonburi Energy Storage Systems (TESM) has been producing lithium-ion batteries (for PHEVs) since 2019, which at the time became Mercedes’ third facility of the carmaker’s global battery production network to go into operation.

The expansion – which included a 50,000 sq-meter plant located near the vehicle production plant – drew an investment of USD 111 million from Mercedes-Benz AG.

First unveiled at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show – the EQS is the flagship model of the company’s EV brand, EQ. The EQS is offered both as rear-wheel drive EQS 450+ which is powered by a single electric motor on the rear axle producing a total of 333PS and 568Nm of torque, or the AWD EQS 580 4Matic which adds a motor on the front axle for a total power output of 532PS and 855Nm of torque.

The EQS is built on the Mercedes-Benz’s purpose-built (large vehicle) Electric Vehicle Architecture (EVA) platform. The EQS is the second model to use the EVA platform (after the EQC SUV) and will boast a 700km driving range (on the WLTP cycle). 

The EQS is powered by a monstrous 107.8 kWh (usable capacity) battery pack situated low in the vehicle’s body that is claimed to deliver a driving range of up to 770 km on the WLTP cycle, giving this uber-luxury sedan the necessary range to match its style.