Exclusive: Mercedes-Benz dealers refuse used EQEs over EV explosion

Mercedes-Benz dealerships are rejecting the brand's own EVs for its secondhand program.

Mercedes-Benz's certificated pre-owned vehicle program. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

With Mercedes-Benz EVs flooding Korea's used car market following an explosion of an EQE last month, Mercedes dealers are refusing to stock EVs in the German carmaker's own secondhand vehicle program.

“Dealers of Mercedes’ certificated pre-owned program say they don’t accept EVs these days, sending customers back to find other used car marketplaces like hey dealer on their own,” a Mercedes EQE 350+ owner told the Korea JoongAng Daily.

A screen capture of a chat between a Mercedes EQE owner and a dealer of Mercedes' certificated pre-owned vehicle program. The dealer said they don't buy EQE models. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The refusal comes as Mercedes EVs have largely become shunned by Korean consumers recently after a Mercedes EQE sedan exploded in an underground parking lot in an apartment complex in Incheon at the beginning of August.

The brand’s certified used car program allows Mercedes owners to sell their cars back to the German carmaker. Mercedes evaluates the cars through 198 quality assessments to resell them as Mercedes-approved secondhand cars, according to its website.

A screen capture of a KakaoTalk chat between a Mercedes EV owner and a dealer specifies that the dealer does not buy the “EQE model."

“What should we do with these cars that are treated as potential fire hazards if Mercedes even refuses to buy them?” a Mercedes EQS owner told the Korea JoongAng Daily.

A spokesperson for Mercedes-Benz Korea did not comment on the specific issue, adding that it is "cooperating fully with fire authorities to determine the exact cause of the fire."

CCTV footage shows a Mercedes-Benz EV exploding at an underground parking lot in Incheon on Aug. 1. [YONHAP]

The prices of used Mercedes EVs are plummeting rapidly while sales of the brand's new EVs are also sliding steeply with weak demand.

The market price of a one-year-old EQE 350+ is between 57.9 million won ($43,370) and 69 million won on the secondhand car platform Chutcha, down 11 percent from June in terms of the lowest price.

Only 39 Mercedes EQE EVs were newly registered in Korea in August, down 89 percent compared to the same month a year ago, according to data from the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association. Sales of EQS EVs plunged 82.4 percent during the same period in terms of units, while only 43 EQA EVs were sold in August, down 57 percent on year.

On Aug. 1, a Mercedes EQE sedan burst into flames in an underground parking garage, resulting in damage to as many as 880 vehicles parked in the garage and inflicting weeklong electricity and water supply outages on some 1,600 households.

The EV suddenly caught fire while parked for almost three days. It wasn’t charging nor experienced any external stimulations, according to the police.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]