Mercedes-Benz is working on a full-size battery-electric sedan called the EQ S as part of plans to unveil 10 new electric vehicles by 2022. Bloomberg reports the sedan will be about the size of its flagship S-Class and compete with the Tesla Model S for buyers of luxury electric vehicles.
Details about the new EV, which emerged from Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche during a presentation of the revamped A-Class hatchback in Croatia, are scarce, though Autocar, citing M-B's large-car project head Michael Kelz, reports the EQ S could launch in 2020 as a separate model from the S-Class and on a new modular architecture that accommodates electric powertrains.
Zetsche offered some new details about the brand's electrification plans, saying the Mercedes electrified lineup will be supported by plug-in hybrid models offering a "totally different" electric range than current models, and that conventional vehicles will be configured as mild hybrids and 48-volt technology.
Mercedes' 2018 C350e plug-in hybrid offers a roughly 20-mile electric-only range for a combined 51 MPGe in city and highway driving. That pales in comparison with other PHEVs like the Chevrolet Volt, which offers 53 miles in all-electric range. Mercedes's other PHEV models in the U.S. are the GLE 550e 4MATIC and S 550e.
Mercedes has so far shown concept versions of its all-electric EQ line, including the EQ A three-door hatchback, shown last September in Frankfurt, and the Generation EQ SUV, first unveiled back in 2016 as the first entrant in its EQ sub-brand and now apparently renamed as the EQ C. It's not clear whether the EQ S jumps ahead in line, but the clock is certainly ticking against its electrification goals.
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