From the end of the year, Mercedes will begin its vast offensive on the market for electric models with no less than seven models offered by 2023. All segments will be served, from compacts to limousines, not to mention the sacrosanct ones, SUVs.
In the coming months, Mercedes’ all-electric range, currently comprised of EQC and EQV, will expand dramatically with the arrival of seven new models ranging from EQA to EQS. The latter will be the very first vehicle of the brand to be based on the new platform intended for vehicles running only on electricity.
700 km for EQS
Like the Volkswagen group with its MEB base, or the Renault group with its CMF-EV system, Mercedes will soon have the modular EVA (Electric Vehicle Architecture) platform, of which the EQS (code V297) will be the first beneficiary.
The car will position itself, in terms of services, in the wake of the recent S-Class, offering comfort and on-board technology worthy of a limousine. According to the automaker, the EV will have a range of nearly 700 km, according to the WLTP cycle, and will have the possibility of recovering 250 km in 15 minutes of charging.
The new technical base which, in addition to the EQS, will also be used for the EQE road sedan (internal code V295). These two models will subsequently be followed by SUVs whose internal codes are X296 (derived from the EQS) scheduled for 2022, and X294 (derived from the EQE) scheduled for the end of the same year.
However, Mercedes will continue, for a time, the electrification of its current models: the EQA, whose production in the Rastatt plant (Germany) will begin at the end of the year, will take over many elements of the second GLA of the name. It will be the same for the EQB which will be presented later, in 2021. Not to mention the EQT, this electrical derivative of the Citan 2.
MMA: the other electric platform
However, Mercedes is preparing a second generation of platform entirely dedicated to electric vehicles. Called MMA (Mercedes-Benz Modular Architecture), it is intended for future compact and family models that will appear from 2025.
In addition, the German manufacturer is working on an electric prototype capable of offering super range, with a single charge, Beijing to Shanghai, more than 1,200 km (745 miles): the Vision EQXX. That’s twice the EQS.
Mercedes multiplies the labels
Mercedes is also expanding its galaxy of labels: after AMG, Maybach and EQ, it’s “G ”’s turn to become a full-fledged sub-brand with a catalog and dedicated products using the cubic style of the famous all-rounder. Class G terrain, launched more than 40 years ago.
Note that all of these labels will be electrified from 2021.
