The GLC has long been Mercedes-Benz’s most popular SUV model and will continue to be the global best-selling series in 2024. The new all-electric GLC, which is a milestone for Mercedes-Benz, offers driving safety and maximum comfort to meet all future customer needs. Designed as a battery electric vehicle (BEV), the new electric GLC incorporates the brand’s latest technologies. Setting new standards in terms of performance, range, efficiency and charging speed, the electric GLC also offers exceptional versatility and performance, just like its best-selling sister models.
Heavily camouflaged prototypes of the electric GLC recently began harsh winter trials in the Swedish Arctic. Tested for durability and performance in temperatures well below freezing and on snow-covered roads, the vehicles easily mastered the harshest natural conditions.
The all-electric GLC overcomes the challenges of the cold season by offering high efficiency and a practical range even at extremely low temperatures. Even on wintery roads, Mercedes-Benz continues to maintain the outstanding safety and driving comfort standards to which its customers are accustomed.
The new GLC with EQ Technology on ice and snow: confident handling and all-wheel drive
During the challenging winter tests in Arjeplog, Sweden, the new Mercedes-Benz GLC demonstrated its outstanding driving and handling characteristics as well as its superior traction on wintry roads thanks to 4MATIC. The all-wheel drive models feature a powerful front-axle drive system that can be quickly engaged or disengaged using a Disconnect Unit (DCU) if required.
To ensure optimum traction and driving stability on snow and ice, sensors detect spinning wheels and distribute torque according to the operating strategy. Thanks to the independent control of both electric motors, drive power is maintained at the optimum level in all conditions.
In the new all-electric GLC, the electric drive system on the rear axle developed by Mercedes-Benz sets new standards by delivering impressive power. Energy is used extremely efficiently by both electric drive systems, which are equipped with high-performance power electronics featuring state-of-the-art silicon carbide inverters.
In addition to all-wheel drive and precise steering, the new braking system has also achieved impressive results on Swedish tracks. This innovative system combines the brake booster, master cylinder and ESP® control components in a compact module, ensuring precise and reliable braking feel.
The system increases the vehicle’s range by carefully optimizing the recuperation of braking energy. This concept ensures that the driver always experiences a reassuring and consistent braking sensation, whether braking is performed with recuperation or friction braking. In addition, the new brake system maintains the brand’s high safety standards. In the event of a fault, the system reliably switches to hydraulic backup mode, ensuring safe braking performance at all times.
Easy travel: modern EQ technology for long driving range and fast charging
The all-electric GLC achieves impressive range even in very cold conditions with the latest battery and traction technologies. Its technological marvels include an 800-volt architecture and advanced traction systems with a two-speed transmission in the primary rear-axle drive system. This 800-volt system optimizes efficiency and performance, significantly reducing charging times.
A variety of high-voltage battery options will be available for the GLC. The primary battery variant will support DC charging at sustained rates of over 320 kW[1]. These batteries differ not only in their usable energy capacity, but also in their cell chemistry. The high-end battery cells achieve exceptionally high gravimetric energy density using silicon oxide anodes mixed with graphite. This innovative technology increases vehicle efficiency and performance, enabling longer driving range and lighter batteries. With all these innovations, the GLC becomes more usable while also delivering greater energy efficiency.
The all-electric GLC impresses with its outstanding thermal comfort even in the harshest winter conditions. The new model will be equipped with an air-source heat pump as standard. This system provides cabin heating while consuming around a third less electrical energy than a comparable electric heater to produce the same heating output under the same conditions.
As a multi-source system, the heat pump can utilise three energy sources simultaneously – waste heat from the electric traction system, waste heat from the battery and ambient air. The heat pump is part of the climate control system, which cools in summer and heats in winter. This approach allows the heat pump to deliver exceptionally high charging performance by bringing the high-voltage battery into the ideal temperature range before fast charging. It is also in line with the Mercedes-Benz philosophy that efficiency should not compromise passenger comfort and well-being. Even during fast charging, the interior is kept at a comfortable temperature. This goal was confirmed by tests carried out in the polar regions of Sweden.
Arjeplog and beyond: Mercedes-Benz's rigorous testing program
For decades, Mercedes-Benz has subjected every new model to the most extreme conditions near the Arctic Circle. As a result, the vehicles have to withstand temperatures as low as -25 degrees Celsius, as well as being driven on snow-covered roads and crossing ice on frozen lakes. Mercedes-Benz operates a special test centre for this purpose in Arjeplog, close to the Arctic Circle in Sweden. Beyond the road tests in the far north, the centre also has meticulously designed test tracks. These include challenging hill climbs with gradients of up to 20 percent, test tracks with different coefficients of friction, grip courses and circular ice tracks on the frozen lake, all of which ensure the best possible testing of the traction and control systems.
To ensure the overall control of the vehicle, more than 500 different tests are carried out as part of the test programme for a new Mercedes-Benz model. For electric vehicles, more than a hundred driving tests are also included, in accordance with standard procedures developed specifically for new drive technologies. Around two-thirds of these are specifically related to eDrive and charging. The new challenges for an electric vehicle include the power output of the electric motor when starting with a cold battery, the range according to customer usage, the use of charging cables, the operating strategy including preconditioning and recuperation. Also of great importance is the specific tuning of the driving dynamics and the ESP® system.
The Arjeplog test center offers the full range of charging options, from simple home sockets to wall boxes and fast charging stations, to test various customer requirements and charging formats.
Systematic overall vehicle validation ensures high quality standards as a comprehensive measure during the development process of every Mercedes-Benz series. In addition to winter tests, summer tests are also carried out in regions such as Arizona and South Africa, where intense sunlight and temperatures of up to 50 degrees are possible.
Before a new vehicle can enter series production, it must meet the development standards and reliability defined by Mercedes-Benz. This takes place in several steps. First, digital preliminary designs and simulations are carried out to prove the feasibility of the concept. The individual components are then verified on test benches or in the relevant test vehicles. For example, the durability of the powertrain and axle parts is tested to ensure their longevity. The systems are then tested and approved in the complete vehicle. The customer's perspective is also very important. A Mercedes-Benz promises to be highly functional and reliable even under extreme conditions and in all relevant usage scenarios.
