*By Amanda Weston* After Mercedes-Benz's unveiling this week of its [first all-electric car](https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/4/17818836/mercedes-benz-eqc-suv-ev-specs-photos), automotive journalist and future Cheddar contributor Tamara Warren said the market is about to get a lot more competitive. "It's huge news for Mercedes-Benz, and a real signal in this space that we are about to have a lot of options when it comes to the electric category, luxury, and the sweet space with crossover vehicles," Warren said Wednesday in an interview on Cheddar. The model, dubbed EQC, is an all-wheel drive SUV with a range of more than 200 miles. Dieter Zetsche, the head of Mercedes and chairman of parent company Daimler AG, called it the ["dawn of a new era"](https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/4/17818836/mercedes-benz-eqc-suv-ev-specs-photos). The announcement Tuesday further weighed on shares of Tesla, whose stock marked a seventh straight day of losses Wednesday. Warren said the electric automaker may certainly have cause to worry about its new competitor, but "that's the nature of the business." "If there's no competition, where's the market going to go?" she said. "What I think it forces Tesla to do is to continue to push their vehicles and not stall on thinking about new features and products and innovation." Whether Tesla can find that focus is something Warren says investors should watch. "Tesla is a really tricky company to follow right now, and you're talking about companies that have sort of infrastructure internally as far as safety and all of the quality that needs to be there coming into this space, not just Mercedes-Benz. But we're also seeing Audi as a player in this field, BMW, and Volvo," Warren said. "So it's going to get really interesting by spring when we start seeing some of these vehicles." The EQC is set to begin production in 2019 and go on sale in the U.S. in 2020. Mercedes-Benz has not yet announced what the vehicle will cost. For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/mercedes-benz-unveils-electric-vehicle).

Share:
More In Business
Jillian Michaels on Sticking to Your New Year's Goals
The pandemic prompted a shift toward personalized at-home workouts, and made health and wellness even more of a priority. In the early months of the pandemic, sales for fitness equipment, shoes and apparel skyrocketed as people adapted to working out in the solitude of their own homes. Even as gyms have reopened, some of these trends have stuck around. Jillian Michaels, personal trainer and creator of The Fitness App by Jillian Michaels, joined Cheddar to discuss the home workout revolution and give her advice on how to stick to your 2022 fitness goals.
Stocks Close Mostly Lower; Dow Suffers 500-Point Drop
Michele Schneider, Partner and Director of Trading Research & Education for MarketGauge.com, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where she says the spread of the Omicron variant and Jerome Powell's comments following the latest Fed decision are spooking investors heading into the weekend.
Load More