How it can also be done
Mercedes-Benz is discontinuing the EQ label and eventually also the EQE and EQS. However, Mercedes-Benz is certainly not stopping with electric cars, and the E-class will also get an electric equivalent. It won’t be called EQE, but probably ‘E-class with EQ technology’. There’s more than just a different name.
Like many brands, Mercedes-Benz introduced a separate model line for electric models a few years ago. This resulted in electric variants of the GLA and GLB being named EQA and EQB respectively. The electric alternatives to the E-class and S-class even became completely separate models on a platform specifically designed for EVs. These Mercedes-Benz EQE and EQS models not only had their own base but also a completely unique exterior design that made them look nothing like the E- and S-class. The EQ label as you’ve known it for years is being discontinued. The electric ‘G-class with EQ technology’ and the equally electric ‘GLC with EQ technology’ indicate how it will be done in the future. Dedicated EVs that in terms of naming are linked to the model for which they serve as electric alternatives. This brings us to the car in the photos. It should make people forget the Mercedes-Benz EQE.
The particularly ‘curved’ EQE and EQS are not long for this world. The Mercedes-Benz EQE is making way for the car you see in these photos for the first time in test camouflage. Again, it’s an electric alternative to the E-class, but this time it will probably be called ‘Mercedes-Benz E-class with EQ technology’. Mercedes-Benz will likely also simply refer to it as the ‘electric E-class’. It’s clear that the car shares nothing with the E-class equipped with combustion engines, just as the ‘electric GLC’ shares no technology with the fuel-powered GLC.
Underneath the electric E-class you see in these photos lies a variant of Mercedes’ brand new MB.EA platform. The electric E-class might even borrow the version that underpins the electric GLC, obviously with adjusted dimensions. Another major difference with the EQE that this sedan replaces is its appearance. The slick shape of the EQE makes way for a more traditionally lined sedan body where there’s more visual distinction between the rear window and the trunk lid.
It’s still far too early for technical details. Whether the electric E-class surpasses the EQE in every aspect remains to be seen. With the electric variants of the CLA, Mercedes-Benz proves that even from a ‘less curved’ lined sedan, it can deliver a very large range. Possibly, thanks to its new platform, the E-sedan doesn’t need an EQE shape at all to surpass it in terms of range. As a reminder: the Mercedes-Benz EQE with the highest endurance is the EQE 350+ that squeezes 670 kilometers from its 96-kWh battery. The electric CLA already achieves a range of nearly 750 kilometers. By the way, the C-class will also get an electric alternative alongside it. That one must compete with the BMW i3. Mercedes-Benz is also working on, among other things, a completely new electric successor to the GLB.