Mercedes-Benz India Extends Its EV Charging Network to Users of Other Brands

German luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz India on Friday announced the extension of its electric vehicle charging network to the customers of other brands as it looks to accelerate faster adoption of electric vehicles in the country. The carmaker also launched the top-end EQE 500 4MATIC electric SUV at an introductory price of Rs 1.39 crore (all India ex-showroom) and a new ‘Customer Experience Centre’ at Chakan, in Pune.

Mercedes-Benz is also supporting the EV (Electric Vehicle) transition in India by democratising the ultra-fast charging network. All EV customers in India across brands, can now enjoy the luxurious Mercedes-Benz experience while using the company’s charging network, Santosh Iyer, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Mercedes-Benz India (MBI), said.

The company said it has the largest charging network within the luxury car space with 140 chargers at different points. Of these, 40 chargers are in the 180 kilowatts and the 60 kilowatt area, which means fast chargers, said.

“…we will be extending this entire charging facility, not only for Mercedes customers but for all brands, luxury, and mass, so that they can come in and charge their cars at a faster pace at our fast charging network,” Iyer said.

The move will help in further accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles in India, he added.

Moreover, MBI has also developed an app along with Bengaluru-based Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India (MBRDI), which enables EV customers to get access to an additional 150 superchargers, Iyer said.

The app can be downloaded by any customer — of Mercedes or non-Mercedes — and it gives access to a fast charging network across India and can help in day-to-day commute or their interested commute, Iyer added.

On the launch, he said, “We are strengthening our BEV portfolio by launching the EQE 500 4MATIC SUV. This is an important addition to our BEV portfolio offering segment-leading luxury appointments, technology and connectivity, among others.” The EQE 500 4MATIC SUV comes with a segment-best, 10-year battery warranty, and a service interval of once in two years, the company said.

The one-of-its-kind Customer Experience Centre in the country will serve a diverse purpose, spanning from curated private consultation, and personalised deliveries of cars to hosting top-end customers’ own corporate events, he said.


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MediaTek Shifts Focus to Cars, AI Amid Supply Glut in Smartphone Market

Taiwan’s top chip design company MediaTek is focusing more resources on chips for cars and AI computing as its smartphone clients face a supply glut and inflation and macroeconomic uncertainty dent demand for consumer electronics.

“We are definitely moving our resources very, very rapidly towards the automotive and computing areas, because those areas will provide our growth in the next three to five years,” MediaTek Chief Executive Rick Tsai told an earnings call.

“In this very demanding environment, we are not reducing people. We’re not increasing either. The critical thing is to allocate those precious resources,” he said.

Tsai said everyone, including MediaTek, was rushing to claim that they were able to support generative artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT.

“We’re confident that we will be able to provide the capability to our customers,” Tsai said.

MediaTek is investing heavily in AI because the new areas the company is focusing on are all related to computing, Tsai said. The development of autonomous vehicles, for instance, requires AI chips.

While smartphone demand has remained lacklustre in the first quarter, the company expects signs of recovery later this year.

“Demand for certain consumer electronics such as smartphones is weaker than we expected,” Tsai said. “As customers remain cautious about future demand, we expect our mobile revenue to be flattish in the second quarter and to improve in the second half.”

© Thomson Reuters 2023


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