Mercedes to launch six new EQ models by 2022

Mercedes-Benz is targeting leadership in electric drives and vehicle software. The consistent electrification of the entire product portfolio is a key element of the strategic focus 'Ambition 2039' and a prerequisite on the way to CO₂ neutrality.

In 2022 the portfolio includes eight all-electric Mercedes-EQ models. The global Mercedes-Benz production network is ready for the electric product offensive and is integrating its Mercedes-EQ models into series production in its existing plants.

The EQS, the first electric luxury sedan from Mercedes-Benz, will start in the first half of 2021 in Factory 56 at the Sindelfingen site. With the production launch of the electric compact SUV EQA at the Rastatt plant and the current decision to locate EQB production in the Hungarian plant in Kecskemet, the company is taking further important steps toward making its product portfolio CO₂ neutral.

The course has also been set toward 'Electric First' in the global powertrain production network as well. High-efficiency battery systems will also be manufactured and assembled within the production network.

In May 2019 production of the EQC at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Bremen was integrated into ongoing series production. Just a few months later the German-Chinese production joint venture, Beijing Benz Automotive Co. Ltd. (BBAC), launched EQC production for the local market in China. In 2020, production of the EQV premium electric MPV started in Vitoria, northern Spain.

Compact car class customers can look forward to two fully electric compact SUVs in the EQA and EQB in 2021. EQA will celebrate its world premiere on January, 20 2021 as the first fully electric derivative of this compact car.

As with the EQC from Bremen and Beijing and the EQV from Vitoria, which are already on the market, the fully electric models at the Rastatt plant run on the same production line as compact vehicles with conventional and hybrid drives.

This will mean that all five vehicles produced in Rastatt are electrified. In addition to the EQA, the A-Class, A-Class sedan, B-Class and the GLA are also produced at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Rastatt - with combustion engines as well as plug-in hybrid drive. With that, the Mercedes-Benz Rastatt plant is making an important contribution on the road to a CO₂ neutral vehicle fleet and to the Mercedes-Benz AG electric offensive.

EQB production will launch in 2021 at two locations in the global Mercedes-Benz Cars production network, in the Hungarian Mercedes-Benz plant in Kecskemet for the world market and in the German-Chinese joint venture BBAC in Beijing for the Chinese market.

Plant preparation, including employee training and renovation work, is already underway. The EQB will be the first purely electrically powered production vehicle from Hungary and will complement the plug-in hybrid portfolio consisting of the CLA and CLA Shooting Brake. The A-Class will also be produced in Kecskemet with a plug-in hybrid drive, in addition to production in the German Mercedes-Benz plant in Rastatt.

Furthermore, in the first half of 2021, production of the EQS electric luxury sedan will begin in Factory 56 at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Sindelfingen. EQS is the independent, fully electric member in the new S-Class programme and is the first to use the new electric architecture for luxury and upper-class electric vehicles at Mercedes-Benz.

In Factory 56, the S-Class and, in the future, the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, and the EQS will be produced in a fully flexible manner on the same line. Factory 56 embodies the future of production at Mercedes-Benz and sets new standards for automobile construction.

Furthermore, the Mercedes-Benz plant in Bremen will begin production of the EQE sedan in the second half of 2021, followed shortly thereafter at the Beijing plant. The EQE thus complements the all-electric portfolio of the two plants. The Beijing plant will then produce a total of four Mercedes-EQ models for the Chinese market.

The Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa is also preparing for production of the EQE SUV and EQS SUV in 2022, which will be produced in the future on the same line with SUVs with conventional and plug-in hybrid drives.

In 2022, a total of eight Mercedes-EQ electric vehicles will be produced at seven locations on three continents. This is possible because the company made early investments worldwide in flexibility and technical equipment with future-oriented Industry 4.0 solutions.

In the Mercedes-Benz AG plants, vehicles with different drive types can be produced in parallel thanks to highly flexible structures. With a view of generating more than half of sales with plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles from 2030 on and gradually increasing the purely electric share, the high degree of flexibility is a decisive advantage. It enables production to be adjusted at short notice depending on market demand.