Just a month ago, Mercedes-Benz lowered the prices of all three versions of the EQE by about RMB 50,000.
Mercedes-Benz is recalling hundreds of electric vehicles in China, adding to its already poor performance.
Mercedes-Benz's joint venture in China, Beijing Benz, is recalling 950 EQE vehicles with production dates between July 14, 2022 and September 9, 2022, starting December 30, 2022, according to an announcement posted today on China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) website.
The right front steering knuckle on some of the vehicles included in the recall may have cracks and the cracks may become larger with the load applied while driving, according to the announcement.
In extreme cases, the steering knuckle may break, affecting the vehicle's handling and increasing the risk of a collision, the announcement said.
Beijing Benz will replace the right front steering knuckle for the recalled vehicles through authorized Mercedes-Benz dealers free of charge to eliminate the safety hazard, according to the announcement.
The Mercedes-Benz EQE was officially launched in China on August 24, when three options were offered with suggested retail prices of RMB 528,000 ($75,700), 546,000 and 585,000 respectively.
All of these models are single-motor rear-wheel drive models with a maximum motor power of 215 kW and peak torque of 556 Nm, with a minimum acceleration time from 0 to 100 km/h of 6.7 seconds.
The main competitor of the Mercedes-Benz EQE is the Nio ET7, which is currently offered in two versions with starting prices of RMB 458,000 and RMB 536,000 before subsidies, respectively.
Although the EQE is close in price to the Nio ET7, it is much behind in specifications.
In terms of power, both versions of the Nio ET7 have dual motors, with a peak power of 180 kW for the front motor and 300 kW for the rear motor.
This gives the Nio ET7 a combined motor power of 480 kW and a peak torque of 850 Nm, thus supporting acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds.
On November 15, Mercedes-Benz announced that it will reduce the suggested retail prices of some EQ series models starting November 16.
The prices of the three versions of the Mercedes-Benz EQE were lowered by RMB 50,000, 50,000 and 50,700 yuan, respectively, from RMB 52.8 million, 54.6 million and 58.5 million yuan to RMB 47.8 million, 49.6 million and 53.43 million yuan, respectively.
The core reason for the sudden and drastic price cuts of the Mercedes-Benz EQ series is that sales have not met expectations, and the essential problem is that Mercedes-Benz is not leading in the key electric vehicle technology, local media Yicai quoted auto industry analyst Yang Zhao as saying in a report at the time.
In November, Mercedes-Benz EQE sales in China were only 206 units, data from local auto media Dongchedi showed.
In addition to the recall of the EQE, Mercedes-Benz is recalling 11,353 imported CLS and E-Class cars and 59,177 locally produced E-Class cars because the fixtures for the 12V battery in the trunk may not be able to withstand the load from an accidental collision, according to the SAMR's announcement.
Mercedes-Benz is also recalling 4,877 locally produced GLC vehicles because of a software design problem that could lead to inaccurate vehicle position data provided by the host control unit software to the communication module.
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