Mercedes-Benz Teases What May Be Its EQC Electric Crossover
The first of the ‘EQ’-branded EVs from Mercedes-Benz will make its full debut next week. Here’s what we already know about it.
On Monday, Mercedes-Benz gave a glimpse of the first electric vehicle it will sell under its electric-only "EQ" marque. It promised a full unveiling of the vehicle will come in Stockholm Sep. 4.
Daimler AG confirmed to The Drive earlier this year that the EQC compact crossover will be revealed this year, suggesting the unnamed EQ product could be the EQC. A batch of trademark filings we discovered in May might reveal the powertrain tiers that will be available for the EQC; they suggest that the EQC crossover could be sold in EQC 300, 350, 360, 400, 420, and 450 variants, presumably varying based on battery pack and motor configuration or specification.
These trademarks also reveal potential sister models to the EQC, including the EQA, EQB, EQE, and EQS, their relative powertrain suffixes ranging from 200 to 600. When initially asked to comment on the intent to produce such models, Daimler declined, citing company policy to secure any and all possible naming schemes, regardless of intent to use said names. The Drive contacted Mercedes-Benz for comment, but the automaker declined to issue a statement.
Some idea of how near-future EQ vehicles could look can be gleaned from the Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow concept car, which debuted Friday at Pebble Beach. It was inspired by the company's classic Grand Prix racing cars, and Mercedes-Benz hopes to reestablish the connection between itself and motorsport by heavily involving the EQ name in racing—it's attached to the company's Formula 1 team, and will be a full-time entry into Formula E starting with the 2019-2020 season.
