Mercedes-AMG set to give all future models plug-in option

Mercedes-AMG's CLS53 already features a mild hybrid powertrain
GLE will be one of 20 Mercedes PHEVs by the end of 2020
Mercedes is spending £9 billion on an electrification push

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14 March 2019

Mercedes-AMG is likely to develop a plug-in hybrid version of every model in its line-up in the future, featuring a performance-tuned version of Mercedes-Benz’s EQ Power system.

The move is part of a major push of plug-in hybrid (PHEV) technology being undertaken by Mercedes as a key element of its £9 billion electrification programme to dramatically reduce fleet CO2 emissions. As previously reported by Autocar, the first Mercedes-AMG PHEVs are expected in 2020.

Mercedes-AMG currently offers a number of mild-hybrid models, including the CLS 53 and Mercedes-AMG E 53. These feature the firm’s EQ Boost-branded 48V starter/generator, which can deliver an additional 22bhp and 184lb ft of torque. However, the need to meet increasingly tight EU fleet emissions targets means that these are likely to be an intermediary step.

Mercedes' head of external affairs for emissions, Frank Overmeyer, expressed his personal view that: "All the AMG vehicles will be available in the future with plug-in hybrids as an option. Mild hybrid is not the strategy of AMG, because the emissions savings are too small.” Overmeyer is not involved in the management or development of AMG models.

Mercedes-Benz currently offers PHEV variants of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Mercedes-Benz S-Class under the EQ Power badge, with Mercedes-Benz GLC and Mercedes-Benz GLE versions coming soon. The firm will launch 20 PHEV variants by the end of 2020, with an Mercedes-Benz A-Class using a new plug-in powertrain developed specifically for compact cars due imminently.

The models all feature the firm’s third-generation PHEV system. This uses an electric motor that produces 121bhp and 325lb ft and offers around 31 miles of electric-only range. Mercedes is working to extend that range with the next S-Class, due in 2020, which is expected to use a system that offers 62 miles of zero-emission power.

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Future Mercedes PHEV performance models, including those in the Mercedes-AMG line-up, are likely to use a version of that system but branded EQ Power+ (matching the team’s Formula 1 car) and tuned for extra performance at the expense of some range.

“The battery itself and the application, including the electric motor, will be the same, and you can have a significant boost [in performance] that will reduce the range, but the experience will be better,” said Overmeyer. “Same battery, same drivetrain, different application. In an SUV, it might offer 100km [62 miles]. It might only be 60km or 70km [37-43 miles] in an AMG.”

Although the need to reduce average fleet emissions is pushing manufacturers towards electric and other highly efficient tech, Overmeyer said high-performance AMG models will remain a key part of the Mercedes line-up.

“They are the technical icons of our brand,” he said. “We should also never forget that the new world, these electric vehicles, need to be funded, and it’s being funded by our existing high-profit vehicles.”

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James Attwood

Title: Associate editor

James is Autocar’s associate editor, and has more than 20 years of experience of working in automotive and motorsport journalism. He has been in his current role since September 2024, and helps lead Autocar's features and new sections, while regularly interviewing some of the biggest names in the industry. Oh, and he once helped make Volkswagen currywurst. Really.

Before first joining Autocar in 2017, James spent more than a decade in motorsport journalist, working on Autosport, autosport.com, F1 Racing and Motorsport News, covering everything from club rallying to top-level international events. He also spent 18 months running Move Electric, Haymarket's e-mobility title, where he developed knowledge of the e-bike and e-scooter markets.