Mercedes-Benz EQV Electric Minivan Concept Revealed at 2019 Geneva Motor Show

Mercedes-Benz revealed Tuesday at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show a conceptual electric luxury minivan that it calls the EQV Concept.

The EQV, for short, is the second vehicle in Mercedes's growing "EQ" passenger electric vehicle (EV) lineup, and is touted as the world's first purely electric luxury minivan. Its design follows in the electric EQC crossover's stylistic footsteps, adopting blue highlights and a modernized styling language distinct from Mercedes' non-electric lineup. Power in the EQV comes from a 100 kilowatt-hour (kWh) lithium-ion battery to propel a 201-horsepower electric motor on the vehicle's front axle, which can haul the EQV up to an estimated 249 miles on a full charge, or to a top speed of 99 miles per hour.

Mercedes did not state on which testing protocol the EQV would achieve this range, though its use of the NEDC standard (which heavily flatters electric vehicles' ranges) for the EQC's range suggests that the EQV's range estimate is also on the generous side.

Charging the EQV's battery can be done from ordinary power sockets, wall boxes, or fast chargers, from which Mercedes says the EQV can gather 62 miles of range in 15 minutes, though the wattage required to reach this charge rate was not disclosed.

Fast chargers themselves can be found with the vehicle's MBUX infotainment system, which is central to the EQV's cavernous, highly configurable interior. Depending on intended use, the EQV can be outfitted as a six-seater, with maximum interior space and amenities for VIP transportation, or as a seven- or eight-seater for either large families or shuttle services. Blue Nappa leather is everywhere, highlighted by rose gold contrast stitching.

"The Concept EQV embodies our 'Progressive Luxury' approach by merging the analogue and digital worlds into a single entity," states Daimler's Chief Design Officer, Gorden Wagener.

"The EQ design idiom provides the vehicle with its unmistakable appearance and has some impressively progressive shapes, and in the interior, too, the cool aesthetics of the exterior continue, being complemented by warm accents, like those in rose gold, which underline the whole 'Welcome Home effect.' The focus in the cockpit of our Concept EQV is on the new and intuitive MBUX system."