The Electrified Road Trip! Mercedes-Benz Journeys Across The U.S. To Debut Its Pop-Up Showrooms
Mercedes-Benz is working hard to prepare for the release of its new electric models, but in the meantime, they’re opening up various temporary showrooms or as they would call “experiences”, to educate the public on a new kind of car.
One of these cars is the new 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS sedan, in which the luxury carmaker is constructing pop-up locations in The Big Apple and The Golden State that makes you forget that you’re in a dealership, but more in a museum of sorts. The Mercedes-EQ Experience is the first center and has already debuted in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District, which is open to all until December 1st. Later this year, the second center will be located in Santa Monica, California, while the third will appear in 2022, most likely in or near the California area.
The German manufacturer also plans to start its roadshow across 20 cities in the States, which will give people the opportunity to test drive these EQs for the first time. Recently, events began in Las Vegas and Orange County, where drivers were allowed to get behind the wheel for 30 minutes and get a chance to “experience” several digital features in the cabin.
“When you’ve got a brand that is as long standing as Mercedes-Benz, as amazing as the non-electric products are, it isn’t as much of an education factor,” says Monique Harrison, Mercedes-Benz USA’s head of brand. “It’s very different in the way that we’re going out to the consumer [with EVs] and giving them a full educational experience.”
Many automakers have stepped their game up this year in terms of finding inventive ways to promote their growing line of EVs that consist of affordable cars to those that are far more upscale. Although from our standard, Mercedes-Benz is using an impressive strategy, they aren’t the first to do it.
In 2017, Tesla opened up its own showcase, which was years before this current shift towards EVs in the car industry. Lucid Motors also opened up its spectacle in June, only a few weeks before the EV startup even went public.
The Mercedes-EQ Experience, which is located near the famous High Line park, gives onlookers the chance to walk through the 8,000 square-foot setup, and learn more about the company’s plan for their electrics. Together with two versions of the EQ parking inside, you’ll see an interactive walkway where footsteps are transformed into kinesthetic energy via a collaboration with Pavegen, a British startup. Near a sidewalk window, there will be two EV charging stations and an interactive digital screen exhibit where people from all over can charge EVs. The showroom was created to tell the story of the company’s evolution from its earliest cars and show their progression to the present day. Onlookers will see a long table full of illustrations and historical facts as well as a large video screen featuring brands of several car models along the way.
Other aspects will be covered in this showcase, such as one section based on an in-car partnership with Gordon Hempton. According to Harrison, the goal is to give the public further awareness of what’s possible in luxury EV.
“If I’m being very honest, it’s us going after those customers that maybe aren’t thinking about switching over to electric,” she said. “I mentioned the education side of this, and there are so many that will become customers of electric that maybe are not considering it today. For us, it’s a huge conversion point within our existing base, and on the flip side we’re looking at those who have been sitting on the sidelines waiting for an electric product from Mercedes and now this one is here.”
Additionally, the automaker has recently promoted its electrics in New York, specifically during the US Open tennis tournament, last month (August 2021), where the EQS was officially revealed. The company built a virtual reality tennis game on an LED wall that showed electric movement during a match, as well as donated $1 to the National Energy Education Development Project for every time visitors stepped on its Pavegen walkway, harvesting energy to power an upcoming Alicia Keys event.
Harrison also said that the brand and its portfolio of products gets “younger and younger,” giving room for a new challenge in “making sure that that’s done in the right way” for enticing EV customers for the EQ and others.
“Those that are waiting on the sidelines are largely a younger consumer,” she said. “And one that we’re really excited to tackle with EQ models because it gives us a chance to communicate a product that is new, that is fresh, that is forward-thinking, that does attach to a sustainable future.”
Mercedes-Benz of Washington
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