It's an electric luxury sedan that's at the level of the S-Class, but not quite the electrified version of it.
Even as Jaguar has announced their upcoming zero-emission XJ sedan and Audi their next-generation electric Audi A8, Mercedes-Benz is not getting left behind in the large, electric luxury sedan market. The German car maker has confirmed it will be launching its own rival to these cars and unlike the Audi and Jaguar models, the Mercedes won't be an electrified variant of S-Class. Instead, it will be a completely separate new model in its own right.
The Mercedes-Benz large-cars project boss, Michael Kelz, told the UK's Autocar publication: "We will have an electric vehicle at the level of the S-Class, no doubt, but it will not be the S-Class."
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This new luxury sedan will sit in the company's new EQ electric range alongside models we've already been shown in concept form such as the EQ A hatchback and EQ C SUV. There will also be an EQ equivalent to the popular C-Class, but that one has yet to break cover. The German auto giant was busy trademarking a number of names last year, which included the EQ S that's obviously going to be the name used for the electric cousin of the S-Class.
Using existing vehicle platforms that were designed for combustion engine models is far from ideal, which is why separate platforms for its EVs is the way Mercedes is choosing to go. Kelz said of how designs of sedans will change to accommodate electric powertrains: "short overhangs front and rear thanks to the packaging under the floor and huge wheelbases make it more difficult to convert the platforms of low-bodied combustion-engined vehicles to accommodate electric powertrains."
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A concept version of a new all-electric large sedan has already been produced because Kelz has admitted that he's seen it, and that a production model based upon it could be with us by as soon as 2020. Even if it doesn't arrive as soon as that it won't be any later than 2022 because the company has already revealed it intends to have as many as 20 electrified models in its range by that point.