Electrification will be front and centre at the company’s first new-concept North American dealership, with Level 2 chargers and DC fast-charging infrastructure

Mercedes-Benz is taking charge of its future as it breaks ground on a new 95,900-square-foot dealership in Toronto.

Announced on Sept. 5, the new facility will be situated west of downtown, near two major highways. Along with three showrooms and 37 service bays, the site will have 22 EV charging stations. Twenty of these stations will be Level 2 chargers, while the remaining two will be Level 3.

“We want to mitigate our customers’ range anxiety with Level 2 charging stations and infrastructure to support DC fast charging“

Brian Fulton, President and CEO, Mercedes-Benz Canada

Brian Fulton, president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Canada, told Electric Autonomy Canada that “providing our visitors with easy access to charging stations will support our broader goals, help us to deliver best customer service, and ensure we are prepared for the growing fleet of Mercedes-Benz electric vehicles.

“We understand, and want to mitigate, our customers’ range anxiety, and are doing our part to make their lives less stressful with Level 2 charging stations as well by as installing infrastructure to support DC fast charging at the dealership.“

Excited for the future

Mercedes-Benz is “excited for the future of electric,” Fulton says. “Electrifying our lineup provides environmental benefits and the instant torque of an electric motor makes for a very satisfying high-performance driving experience — a perfect fit for our brand.”

He notes that this new dealership — an advanced digital environment with different multi-use spaces in which customers and staff can interact — is in line with Mercedes-Benz’s four pillars, referred to as CASE: connected, autonomous, shared services and electric.

Additionally, it will help Daimler AG, Mercedes-Benz’s parent company, reach its goal of making 25 per cent of Mercedes-Benz’s vehicles electric by 2025.

The new Toronto dealership isn’t the only in-progress EV project for Mercedes-Benz and Daimler. Recently, Daimler purchased 20 billion Euros worth of battery cells, with plans to continually purchase more until 2030 while opening nine of its own battery-making facilities.

Additionally, by early 2020, Mercedes-Benz has said it will release the EQC, a compact luxury SUV in Canada. The EQC is one of 10 fully electric vehicles that Mercedes-Benz has planned.