It sounds like Mercedes-Benz may pull the plug on the EQ line.
The German luxury marque is thinking about jettisoning the EQ naming convention it uses to differentiate battery-powered vehicles from those with combustion engines, according to Handelsblatt, a daily newspaper based in Düsseldorf. Although that may at first sound bad for the future of its EVs, it’s quite likely the opposite.
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The publication reports that sources close to the company say it plans to ditch the EQ brand, which has been in use since 2016, when its next generation of compact vehicles launches. That’s not far off, either. The cars could are expected to be on the road towards the end of 2024.
The EQ brand may be going away, but don’t expect the marque’s EVs to do the same. The company remains fully committed to battery electric vehicles. In fact, it sounds like the company doesn’t see the need for branding specific to EVs, especially if that is going to be all it sells in the near future. The automaker announced in 2021 that any new vehicle architecture it releases from 2025 onwards will be exclusively electric.
“With the goal of our parent brand Mercedes-Benz becoming fully electric by the end of the decade, we will adapt the positioning of the vehicles and thus also the use of the brand in line with the times, but it is too early for details on this at the moment,” a spokesperson for the brand told Reuters on Thursday.
A representative for Mercedes-Benz did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Robb Report.
Of course, you don’t need to read a statement to see that Mercedes is serious about battery-powered vehicles. The brand already sells four different all-electric models in the US—EQB crossover, EQE sedan and the EQS sedan and SUV. More are on the way, too, including a fully electric version of the marque’s iconic G-Wagen 4×4.
Also, as far as the luxury market is concerned, going electric is a good thing.
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