Mercedes-Benz concept store opens at Great World, previews EQS electric luxury limo

SINGAPORE – Mercedes-Benz has opened a new store, but it’s not at the Leng-Kee/Alexandra automotive belt, and neither is it wholly focused on cars.

It also contains something exciting: The first fully-electric car in the luxury limousine segment, the Mercedes-EQ EQS. 

The German luxury brand is trying something new with its just-opened Mercedes-Benz Concept Store located at unit #01-131 inside Great World shopping mall (formerly Great World City) at 1 Kim Seng Promenade, 237994.

The Concept Store, Mercedes says, was designed in conjunction with Hypemaker and in partnership with its official dealer Cycle & Carriage, and its chief aim is not to sell cars but to ‘drive conversations around sustainability in Singapore.’ It also heavily features partnerships rather than operating as a solo brand space. 

The chief draw will still be cars, though, and the store has space for two of them in its central area dubbed ‘The Showcase’. Only cars from the Mercedes-EQ fully-electric sub-brand will be on display, in line with the Concept Store’s concept. 

While Mercedes-EQ-only showrooms/stores exist, the new Concept Store in Singapore is the first of its kind by Mercedes anywhere in the world, according to President and CEO of Daimler Southeast Asia/Mercedes-Benz Singapore, Mr Claudius Steinhoff. 

President and CEO of Daimler Southeast Asia/Mercedes-Benz Singapore, Mr Claudius Steinhoff (right), with the EQS.

“So far the reception to (the Concept Store) has been great, I think because of the location and also the sustainability concept. It’s the first of its kind, but we already have many requests from other Mercedes-Benz offices around the world to bring this idea to other places,” Mr Steinhoff told CarBuyer Singapore. 

EQS previewed 

Visiting the store just for the wheels, is an idea solidified by the presence of the EQS luxury electric limousine, which is the first EV in the segment until the BMW i7 arrives later this year or in early 2023. 

The car has been homologated in Singapore and is expected to go on official sale in late Q2 2022. Impressive for such a large vehicle it nets a VES score of A1 meaning it’s entitled to a $25,000 rebate. Pricing information has yet to be released, but given the recent bump in ARF taxes for luxury cars, we expect it to cost at least $550k with COE.

Initial details include an LTA efficiency figure of 18.3kWh/100km, which given the car’s 107kWh battery means an on-paper range of at least 550km. The eye-catching Hyperscreen, which spans 56-inches and consists of three displays under one pane of glass, will be a standard equipment option, along with all-wheel steering and adaptive air suspension. 

Art of Life(style) 

On the left side of the store is The Takeover, which is a space for ‘thematic and sustainable lifestyle concepts’ will be presented.

At its opening, the space is occupied by local coffee joint Foreword Coffee Roasters, who are a ‘coffee company and social enterprise…committed to positive environmental and social impacts’. The space also currently features a wall by Mosscape, a maker of natural interior design concepts. In this case, it’s a live moss/vegetation wall that reflects Singapore’s own topographical features. 

On the right of the store is an art/curated space named Artist @Work where artworks or products with the sustainability ethos will be showcased – in this case here, it’s furniture made from recycled materials. 

Sustain Ability 

The Concept Store will be a permanent fixture, at least for the near future, and it reflects the way that carmakers – and especially luxury carmakers like Mercedes-Benz – have embraced tenets of eco-friendliness, sustainability, and responsibility as fundamental aspects of their products. 

It’s a savvy move, considering that consumers now consider sustainability as the new luxury and are willing and able to pay for things that benefit – or at least claim to – the earth. 

As we found out at EV Weekend Singapore a few months ago, Mercedes-Benz is very ready for the electric charge, promising a BEV in almost every segment it contests by this year. The brand is scheduled to launch four EVs this year – the EQB, EQE, EQS, and EQV.

This article was first published in CarBuyer.