Mercedes-Benz planning E-Class-sized EV for 2022?

The model is tentatively called EQE.

Mercedes-Benz's electrification offensive will include an E-Class-sized model named EQE, according to a recent report. The car has already been approved for production, but we won't see it in the metal until the early 2020s.

British magazine Autocar learned the EQE will ride on the aluminum-intensive MEA platform developed exclusively for electric cars. The architecture is already found under the EQC, which will reach American showrooms in 2020. Technical details are vague; all we know is that the EQE will offer all-wheel drive thanks to an electric motor mounted over each axle. Mercedes could launch a cheaper, rear-wheel drive variant of the car a little bit later in its production run.

The EQE will offer more power than the EQC, which delivers 402 horsepower and 564 pound-feet of torque, and it will give buyers up to 373 miles of driving range. It will come with an air suspension, four-wheel steering, and level three autonomous technology in its most upmarket configuration. Insiders promised the model will offer S-Class-like interior space in an E-Class footprint.

Mercedes-Benz's electric car offensive will also include a hatchback named EQA, which we saw as a concept (pictured) during the 2017 Frankfurt auto show, the EQV van, which was shown as a concept at the 2017 Geneva auto show, and an SUV called EQB which will be based on the upcoming GLB. Finally, the S-Class-sized EQS will be positioned at the top of the firm's EQ range.

We believe the EQA is the next electric car Mercedes will release. It could make its debut by the end of 2019. It will be followed by the EQV, which likely won't be sold in the United States, and the EQE won't come out until about 2022.

Photo by Ronan Glon.