STUTTGART: Mercedes-Benz has announced that its EQC's development puts it on schedule to hit the production line in 2019.

The first all-electric model to bear the three-pointed star completed its winter testing in northern Sweden from January to March and will be taking on more suspension / powertrain tests as well as integrated complete-vehicle high-temperature testing in southern Europe.

In the case of the EQC, special attention is paid to the electric powertrain and battery.

A special role is also played by the acoustics of an electric vehicle, as, unlike in a combustion-engined vehicle, there is hardly a sound from the powertrain.

This makes sounds such as the rolling of the tyres or wind noise more prominent.

All in all, the EQC will have been in development for around four years and would have been subjected to over three extreme winters and three extreme summers from negative 35 to over plus 50-degree  Celsius.

Before coming to market in many countries around the world, the EQC will have undergone extensive testing in Germany, Finland, Sweden, Spain, Italy, Dubai, South Africa, the USA and China.

To meet the targets for every component and the complete vehicle, the EQC will soon undergo a stress programme in the heat of Spain.

Here the effects of temperature during driving is tested under extreme conditions, and also other particularly challenging aspects for an electric vehicle, such as air conditioning and charging.

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