Mercedes electric cars: six new 'EQ' electric models to join range

Mercedes has officially confirmed six new 'EQ' fully electric cars to join the existing EQC SUV and EQV people carrier in its fully electric line-up over the coming years, including both saloon and SUV variants of the EQE executive car and EQS luxury model.

Five of the six models have been spotted testing on public roads in various states of camouflage in recent months. The line-up will begin with the smaller and cheaper Mercedes EQA and Mercedes EQB SUVs, which will slot in below the already-on-sale EQC. These will rival models like the Skoda Enyaq iV, Volkswagen ID.4 and Volvo XC40 Recharge P8; Mercedes has confirmed that production of the EQA will begin before the end of 2020.

Next up will be the Mercedes EQE, which will be available in both saloon and SUV forms, as a fully electric counterpart to the E-Class saloon and GLE SUV respectively. Rivals for the saloon will include the upcoming fully electric BMW 5 Series, while the SUV will go head-to-head with Audi e-tron and BMW iX3.

Topping the electric range will be the luxurious Mercedes EQS, already previewed by 2019's Vision EQS concept car. Like the EQE, it'll be offered in both saloon and SUV bodystyles, with the regular EQS as an 'electric S-Class' to rival the upcoming BMW 7 Series and delayed Jaguar XJ electric cars, and the EQS SUV offering a zero-emissions counterpart to the conventionally powered GLS.

The EQS is currently in the final phase of an intensive testing programme ahead of production commencing. This has encompassed winter running in Scandinavia, chassis and drivetrain tests on proving grounds, public roads and on the high-speed test track at Nardo in Italy, in addition to further on-road testing in the US and China. High-temperature testing in southern Europe and South Africa has also taken place.

While the EQA, EQB, EQC and EQV are based on existing Mercedes platforms that are also used as the basis for combustion-engined cars, both of the EQE and EQS models sit on an all-new scalable architecture developed exclusively to underpin pure-electric models. Mercedes describes it as "optimised to meet every requirement of a future-oriented, battery-electric model family".

In addition to these core 'EQ' models, Mercedes CEO Olla Kallenius (pictured above) has also hinted that fully electric versions of Mercedes' ultra-luxurious Maybach saloons, hardcore AMG performance models and G-Wagen off-roader are on the way.