Mercedes-Benz To Quit DTM And Join Formula E

Win on Sunday, sell on Monday. As the market is gradually moving towards electrification, Mercedes-Benz wants to make a mark in the motorsports department so that it can sell more electric cars. The carmaker announced its exit from the European German touring car race DTM. The 2018 season will be the last season for the luxury brand as it prepares for the 2019-20 Formula E.

A big splash at the sixth season of Formula E will catapult the company's upcoming range of electric cars under the EQ brand. Through Formula E, Mercedes-Benz will demonstrate the capabilities and the competitiveness of its electric cars. As usual, some of the technology and learnings from the race track will find their way into their road cars.

Their electric cars will be further categorised in the same way as their current lineup, which starts with all the A cars (A-Class, CLA, GLA) and goes as far as S (S-Class, CLS, GLS). EQC will be the first electric car to go on sale with the three-pointed star in 2019, which is right around the time Season 6 of Formula E kicks off. Winning their first Formula E will put the EQC in the limelight. The EQC is said to deliver 500km of range on a single charge and sprint to 100kmph from zero in under five seconds. If Mercedes-Benz delivers on these counts, then the EQC can put the range anxieties to rest for good.

A slew of electric cars will follow through bringing the count to 10 by the end of 2022. To keep the battery costs in check, Mercedes has also invested US $562 million (~Rs 3620 crore) towards building a massive battery factory.

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