Mercedes-Benz has a new ‘EQ’ sub-brand, similar to BMW‘s ‘i’, to challenge the likes of various zero-emission vehicles in the market.
The family will include a fully electric SUV that will rival the Tesla Model X and Jaguar I-Pace, and is expected to debut next year.
Mercedes’ EV SUV is believed to have been spied testing out in Germany, and to have evolved from a mule that tried to hide under the body of a GLC last year, into a prototype.
The layers of camouflage, combined with plastic cladding added to it, don’t allow us to see its design just yet, and it’s possible that it isn’t the aforementioned SUV after all. But if this is indeed an EQ model, then it uses an electric powertrain, just like the Generation EQ Concept that previewed the production version last year. The show car, which was presented in Paris, had a pair of electric motors, delivering 402hp and 516lb-ft (700Nm) of torque and a 70kWh battery pack.
Expect more EQ models to arrive in the coming years, alongside the SUV, as the family should gain another crossover and a sedan, among others, as Mercedes wants to make its presence felt in the EV car market.