2022 Mercedes-Benz EQA coming to Malaysia soon – EQA250 with over 400 km EV range, under RM300k?

Well, it looks like Mercedes-Benz Malaysia’s (MBM) electrification programme will finally be kicking off very soon, because the company has begun teasing its first all-electric offering slated for the country, doing so via an image post on its Facebook page.

The model that will begin the brand’s EQ model offensive strategy will be the EQA, the fully-electric version of the H247 GLA. It remains to be seen which variant of the H243, which was introduced in January last year, will be introduced for our market, but the front-wheel drive EQA 250 should be on the cards.

The model features a single asynchronous front-mounted electric motor that provides the compact crossover with 188 hp (190 PS or 140 kW) and 375 Nm of torque, and gets it from zero to 100 km/h in 8.9 seconds and a top speed of 160 km/h.

A 66.5 kWh liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery provides the standard range model with a usable travel distance of 426 km (WLTP cycle). As for charging times, the vehicle’s 11-kW onboard AC charger allows a full charge to be accomplished in five hours and 45 minutes, while DC fast charging (up to 100 kW) takes just 30 minutes to get the battery from a 10% to 80% state of charge (SoC).

The automaker also has two four-wheel drive versions of the vehicle, in the form of the EQA 300 4Matic and EQA 350 4Matic, which were introduced in the middle of last year. The twin-motor models offer 225 hp (228 PS or 168 kW) and 390 Nm in the case of the EQA 300, and 288 hp (292 PS or 215 kW) and 520 Nm for the EQA 350.

No indication of pricing as yet, but in Australia, the EQA 250 starts from AUD76,800 (RM236,500), while prices in the UK start from £45,645 (RM255,000), so it’s safe to expect that the EV should come in under RM300k, given the exemptions in place for electrics. That’s not far from the pricing of the petrol GLA 250 CKD (currently RM271,164 following a 2022 update), so how it will be priced will be intriguing, to say the least.

As for the EQS, which was long speculated to be the initial EQ model to be deployed here, that introduction looks to have been delayed, presumably due to high market demand for the car in global markets. It is still slated to arrive, but no details as to when it will do so.

By all accounts, the EQA should break cover soon enough, along with the company’s outline for its electrification plans. Last November, MBM vice-president of sales and marketing Michael Jopp had said that the period from announcement of plans and products to market launch would be short. With the EQA teaser, the timer may have started.

Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.