One of ex-Mercedes-Benz chairman Dieter Zetsche’s final acts in power was to sign off on the firm’s sixth electric model: the EQE.
The new upmarket saloon is scheduled to go on sale in 2022 and will compete directly with the Tesla Model S in terms of price. Details of the EQE have been cited in documents recently made public by the Chinese Ministry of Information and Technology in which the EQE is referred to under its internal codename, V295.
The EQE is one of 10 new electric models destined for sale from Mercedes under its EQ sub-brand by the end of 2025 in a development programme already budgeted to cost up to €10 billion (£8.7bn).
On top of this, the German car maker has announced the investment of a further €20bn (£17.4bn) in battery cell technology. Electric models are expected to account for more than a quarter of all Mercedes’ sales by the middle of the next decade.
Zetsche said: “Our electric offensive continues to gain momentum. We are now taking the next step.”
The EQE will follow the recently introduced EQC, next year’s new EQA and EQV, the flagship EQS and the recently confirmed EQB into Mercedes showrooms in the UK.
A sibling model to the larger and more luxurious EQS due out in 2021, the EQE will also be the second Mercedes to be based on the company’s new MEA electric car platform. Set to make extensive use of aluminium, it is designed to give future EQ electric models a flat floor structure for added packaging flexibility and what Mercedes insiders have described as “class-leading interior space”.
One source said: “The EQE will be shorter in length than today’s Mercedes-Benz E-Class but offer space comparable to the existing Mercedes-Benz S-Class.”
As our image shows, the EQE will evolve the shape of the upcoming facelifted E-Class with a focus on aerodynamic efficiency. It will adopt a face inspired by the rest of the EQ line-up, and is expected to sit lower to the ground with a ride height adjusting depending on the road conditions.
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More "jam tomorrow" and vapourware from the German car industry.....
Come back tomorrow for VAG's announcement on 22 new BEVs due at some point in the 21st century
Huge investments being made
Huge investments being made in electric vehicles here, representing large bets on the future direction of the market. Not all these bets will come off.
I predict that one of the German big 3 will sell a large stake to the Chinese within 5 years.
Its easy enough to put
Yep so easy I'll be doing one in my lunch time
'One manuafacturer getting close'? in price order I'd say Renault, Nissan, BMW, Tesla.
The Apprentice wrote:
Yes, and Hyundai / Kia is to be commended for making electric vehicles somewhat accessible, but even their cars are way more expensive than the average new car - here in australia, at least.
jason_recliner wrote:
Yes, they are a good example, relatively affordable vehicles but unable to make in any suitable quanitity, you could be waiting a year to get your hands on one!
No idea how much this Merc. will be but I am betting expensive enough that keeping up with demand won't be a problem.
I am sure technically Mercedes could make a 300 mile plus EV C-Class size car for under £40K but there would be no point, they wouldn't be able to get enough batteries to keep up. Sooner or later they will have to bite the bullet and splash some billions on the problem.