The Battery Technology in the Mercedes EQS Sedan Will Rival Tesla's Flagship Model S​

author: Manish Kharinta   

The Mercedes EQS electric sedan will be officially revealed on April 15.

Electric automaker Tesla Inc. recently reported robust sales for the first quarter of 2021. True to Chief Executive Elon Musk's prediction, the company's more affordable Model 3 and Model Y crossover are responsible for the automaker's impressive performance in Q1 2021. 

But it also proves that Tesla's flagship Model S sedan, which first launched in 2012, is no longer the most valuable vehicle EV manufacturer's product portfolio as competition grows. Tesla has not even built any Model S sedans in 2021 according to its Q1 report, yet competition is looming. 

Last week at Daimler's annual company meeting, the Mercedes-Benz parent shared new details about its upcoming EQS fully-electric sedan. 

The EQS is the first battery-only sedan that Mercedes will introduce under its new electric sub-brand. It will be launched in the European markets sometime in August 2021 and is the first of several new EVs the company plans to launch in the U.S. 

Among the details, Mercedes Benz confirmed that EQS electric sedan will get a 108 kWh battery pack which will offer roughly 479 miles (770 km) of driving range. The 479-mile range estimate easily beats the Long Range Model S.

The EPA reports that the Long Range Tesla Model S equipped with a 104 kWh battery can deliver up to 412 miles of range. To be fair, Mercedes used the WLTP cycle to estimate the range of the EQS. Compared to the EPA standard, WLTP range estimates are usually more lenient. 

Although Tesla is giving the Model S an overdue refresh that may help to boost its appeal for EV buyers, deliveries of the 1,100+ horsepower Plaid+ Models S won't start until mid-2022. The upcoming Plaid+ will be Tesla's longest range offering in the segment with a range of 520 miles respectively.

Tesla has not yet disclosed details about the battery pack that will power Plaid+ Model S, but the California company claims that it will accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in under two seconds.

The interior of the EQS sedan includes the MBUX Hyperscreen dashboard display.

In the meantime, we can treat the Air Grand Touring sedan from Lucid Motors as the long range benchmark, as the company claims it will have a range of 517 miles. Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson recently announced that deliveries of the electric sedan will start sometime in the second half of this year. With its launch this year, the Lucid Air sedan is poised to be another strong competitor to the Model S. 

We recently reported that Mercedes Benz plans to introduce four new electric-only models by 2022, which means that Tesla is facing the most competition in the EV space for the first time in its history. 

In addition to the EQS sedan, Mercedes Benz will introduce a pair of SUVs, which will be based on the same Electric Vehicle Architecture (EVA platform) that underpins the EQS sedan. 

If Mercedes Benz decides to equip its EQS SUV with the same battery pack as the sedan version, it will also give Tesla's flagship Model X SUV a run for its money.

Manish Kharinta

Manish Kharinta is a automotive writer based in the Los Angeles area. He has worked for automotive industry websites TheSmokingClutch.com, CarDekho.com and CarBikeindia.com. His experience ranges from covering auto shows, to car reviews and breaking automotive news. Manish aims to bring forth his unique perspective on automotive design and technological innovations in the automotive industry.