Rubber to help Mercedes regain EV market-share

Stuttgart, Germany – Daimler is aiming its new Mercedes-Benz EQC as an affordable crossover, particularly for customers who plan to purchase their first electric vehicle (EV).

To do so, designers eliminated expensive features typically offered in the midsize crossover segment such as continuously variable air suspension.

The car maker was, therefore, able to reduce the EQC's pre-tax starting price to less than €60,000, allowing it to qualify for government subsidies in countries such as Germany.

The EQC, Mercedes' first mass-market EV, comes with a range certified at up to 417km under the new WLTP test cycle: the battery's storage can be replenished to 80% in 40 minutes.

Particular attention was paid to rubber-based technologies, especially for the vehicle's noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) systems.

Each electric motor is mounted on two separate sets of rubber bushings to better insulate the passenger cabin: one where the drive-train connects to its sub-frame and the other where the sub-frame connects to the body.

Sound-dampening foam and fabrics such as felt have been added, even in the rear wheel arches, smoothing out all spikes in noise frequencies across the bandwidth spectrum from low to high.

Company managers also acknowledged that the main purpose of the EQC was to prevent any further loss of Mercedes customers to rivals with EVs in their showrooms.

"Tesla is a generation further with its Model 3," a Mercedes project engineer conceded.