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The All-New Mercedes-Benz EV Announced for Paris Might Be a Sedan After All

With reports this conflicting, we won't really know what Mercedes-Benz's new electric vehicle will look like until we actually get to see it in Paris, and even then a shadow of doubt might still hang over it since it will only be a preview.
Mercedes-Benz IAA Concept 8 photos
Photo: Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz IAA ConceptMercedes-Benz IAA ConceptMercedes-Benz IAA ConceptMercedes-Benz IAA ConceptMercedes-Benz IAA ConceptMercedes-Benz IAA ConceptMercedes-Benz IAA Concept
A little over a month ago we said that the first battery-powered vehicle built from the ground up by the Stuttgart company would have an SUV body, probably something the size of a GLC. It made sense since this is one of the most active segments for traditionally powered cars, so why should EVs be any different? Mercedes would skip the Model S phase and jump straight to the Model X.

Now, though, more recent reports suggest that the Germans might actually be cooking up a sedan rather than a larger, heavier vehicle, which means it would go head to head with either the Model S or the Model 3. Since this is a Mercedes-Benz we're talking about, it will most likely be the former, since $35,000 would be a small price for a gasoline-powered Merc, not to mention the company's first real EV.

So Mercedes-Benz is going to war with Tesla, this after some of their previous EVs shared the same powertrain as the Californian company's products. This bellicose stance comes from David McCarthy, Mercedes-Benz Australia’s Senior Manager of Corporate Communications, talking to Australian publication Motoring.

He says that his company's EV will offer a greater range than that of the current Tesla Model S (of around 500 km or 350 miles) and equally impressive speed and acceleration. The price will probably be a little higher than the top Model S, but he believes the brand behind the product will give people the incentive to fork out the extra money.

We’re in business to make money, and is our EV a Tesla killer? I don’t know, I haven’t seen it yet. But we wouldn’t be doing it unless we thought we could sell it," McCarthy said. "It’ll be in a price bracket similar to Tesla Model S, have a similar cruising range, but it’ll be a Mercedes, so I think Tesla probably have good reason to be concerned about it." Alea iacta est.
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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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