Mercedes-Benz design director hints at all-electric S-Class
Mercedes-Benz has finally taken the wraps off its all-electric EQC SUV and launched its EQ brand. But, that's just the beginning. The company's design director is already hinting at what's next.
The all-electric Mercedes-Benz EQC has been revealed and the 402-horsepower, 200-mile electric SUV will mark that company's first major all-electric production car, following on the limited-run AMG SLS Electric Drive and B-Class Electric Drive. It won't, however, be the last. The company wants electrified versions of all its cars by 2022, plus fully electric entries in each segment. That means at least 10 full-on EVs over the next four years, and if the hints being dropped at today's Stockholm launch event are anything to go by, an all-electric S-Class variant may be next.
In discussing the look of the new EQC, Mercedes-Benz design director Robert Lesnik talked up the simple, clean lines of the SUV before saying that we should accept something different on upcoming cars like the EQS -- a car that doesn't officially exist just yet.
What's the EQS, then? Well, he quickly got tight-lipped after that mention, but "EQS" will likely label the company's upcoming, all-electric luxury sedan already spied in testing, its name inspired by the iconic S-Class sedan.
EQS would be the next evolution of the company's new, battery-focused MEA platform, a foundation first unveiled in the EQA concept and now deployed in the EQC. The EQC's floor-mounted, 80 kWh battery provides 200 miles of range from its dual-motor, all-wheel drive configuration. A smaller, more aerodynamic sedan like the presumed EQS could likely do even better.
Not only that, but the smoothness and quiet power offered by an electric drivetrain has the potential to make the luxury-minded Benz even more sedate and calm. Meanwhile, the rush of instant, electric torque will surely offer worthy performance. Whether it could match the adrenaline provided by a turbocharged, 6.0-liter V12, however, remains to be seen.
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