Photo: Mercedes-Benz
With the Electric Drive variant of the B-Class multi-purpose vehicle, Mercedes-Benz tried its hands at the upper echelons of electrification. From the get-go, the B-Class Electric Drive was too expensive, had too little range, and it wasn’t designed as an electric vehicle from the get-go. The time is high, then, for the three-pointed star to pull the plug and make way for a newcomer.
Previewed at the 2012 Paris Motor Show and in production since 2014, the only full-electric Mercedes-Benz in the lineup is manufactured at Rastatt in Germany with Tesla-sourced bits and pieces. The Franken-Merc will die off after the 2017 model year, though, as confirmed to Automotive News by company spokesman Rob Moran. Although the official didn’t go into detail about the EQ-branded successor, he did mention something interesting.
After the B-Class Electric Drive assembly line comes to a halt, the Rastatt-based plant will be converted to accommodate production of next-generation compact vehicles in 2018. This course of action certainly has something to do with Mercedes-Benz’s $11 billion investment in more than 10 EQ-branded electric vehicles, which are scheduled to arrive on the market by 2022.
In the United States, the Stuttgart-based premium automaker sold something like 3,651 units of the B-Class Electric Drive since the order books opened in December 2013. The upcoming EQ family of models, meanwhile, intends to do better with more driving range, less charging time, the whole nine yards.
Mercedes-Benz is already testing an electric SUV dressed with GLC body panels, but word has it the entry-level model will debut under the name of EQ A Concept next month at the 2017 Frankfurt Auto Show. The production-ready variant of the hatchback-bodied concept will reportedly ride on the company’s brand-new MEA, which is short for Modular Electric Architecture.
Mercedes-AMG called dibs on electrification as well, with performance-oriented models confirmed to bear the EQ Power+ name in keeping with the 2017 Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 racecar. Regular electric vehicles from M-B, meanwhile, will be complemented by the EQ Power suffix.
After the B-Class Electric Drive assembly line comes to a halt, the Rastatt-based plant will be converted to accommodate production of next-generation compact vehicles in 2018. This course of action certainly has something to do with Mercedes-Benz’s $11 billion investment in more than 10 EQ-branded electric vehicles, which are scheduled to arrive on the market by 2022.
In the United States, the Stuttgart-based premium automaker sold something like 3,651 units of the B-Class Electric Drive since the order books opened in December 2013. The upcoming EQ family of models, meanwhile, intends to do better with more driving range, less charging time, the whole nine yards.
Mercedes-Benz is already testing an electric SUV dressed with GLC body panels, but word has it the entry-level model will debut under the name of EQ A Concept next month at the 2017 Frankfurt Auto Show. The production-ready variant of the hatchback-bodied concept will reportedly ride on the company’s brand-new MEA, which is short for Modular Electric Architecture.
Mercedes-AMG called dibs on electrification as well, with performance-oriented models confirmed to bear the EQ Power+ name in keeping with the 2017 Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 racecar. Regular electric vehicles from M-B, meanwhile, will be complemented by the EQ Power suffix.
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