Mercedes-Benz is set to introduce the new EQE electric sedan in 2022, a model which will compete directly with the Tesla Model S in terms of pricing. According to Autocar, the EQE has been cited in documents recently made public by the Chinese Ministry of Information and Technology, in which the sedan was referred as the V295.
The EQE, a project signed off by former chairman Dieter Zetsche, is one of 10 new electric models to be sold under the brand’s EQ division. The move is also part of an expansion programme that is already budgeted to cost up to 10 billion euros (RM46.7 billion). On top of this, Mercedes announced another 20 billion euros (RM93.4 billion) investment in battery cell technology.
Apparently, Mercedes-Benz expects more than a quarter of its global sales to be from its electric models by 2025, with Zetsche saying “our electric offensive continues to gain momentum. We are now taking the next step.” The EQE will follow after next year’s arrival of the EQA and EQV. The flagship EQS and the EQB have also been confirmed for production.
On the technical front, the EQE will ride on the company’s new MEA electric car platform, and it’ll be the second model to do so after the EQS. However, the EQC, EQA, EQV and EQB are based around existing platforms that are shared with, respectively, the GLC, A-Class, V-Class and upcoming GLB.
The MEA platform is made largely with aluminium, and is designed to give future EQ cars a flat floor structure for added packaging flexibility and “class-leading interior space,” as insiders put it. One source said “the EQE will be shorter in length than today’s E-Class but offer space comparable to the existing S-Class.”
From the outset, the EQE will be available with all-wheel drive, with power coming from two electric motors. Like the EQS, one motor will be fitted up front to drive the front wheels, while the second motor will power the rear wheels. An exclusively rear-wheel drive variant may be on the cards, although sources say it’s not likely to be available until 2022.
While still in its infancy, the EQE may boast an output that eclipses the top EQC 400 4Matic’s 408 PS and 760 Nm mark. That alone enables the SUV to sprint from zero to 100 km/h in 5.1 seconds. Expect the EQE to be quicker, then.
Features that are earmarked to be offered on the sedan are active air suspension with active four-wheel steering, as well as safety features incorporated into Mercedes-Benz’s new ESF experimental research vehicle, including level three autonomous driving functions. Its battery pack is expected to deliver a driving range of close to 600 km (based on WLTP protocols).
Production of the EQE is scheduled to take place at the automaker’s new Factory 56 in Germany, which is the same site that is said to produce the EQS. The EQE will also be produced at a new 1.5 billion euros (RM7 billion) site that’s being constructed by Mercedes in partnership with its Chinese joint-venture partner in Beijing. The plant is rated to produce up to 70,000 units per year from 2022.
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Looks like Audi, Mercedes, BMW, Volkswagen and Ford comes up with planning of electric luxury cars (Ford is electric non-luxury cars). What about Volvo, hope they will also come up with planning of electric luxury cars
Volvo is the electric luxury marque. For the non-luxury, likely Geely and Proton.
I hope our government will promote renewable energy in our country too