German Auto Motor und Sport magazine announces in an article about Mercedes’ future electrification plans that the Mercedes EQE will not have a direct successor.
The Mercedes-Benz Cars division sold 2,043,800 units in 2023 (+0% vs 2022), of which 222,600 were electric (+73% vs 2022). By comparison, BMW sold 2,253,835 units in 2023 (+7.3%), of which 330,596 (+92.2%) were electric. Thus, BMW sold 50% more electric models in 2023 than Mercedes.
Therefore, Mercedes is in an unfortunate situation. Built on the EVA II platform with 400V architecture, the Mercedes EQE and EQS are not selling at expected levels, although Ola Kallenius, Mercedes CEO, says they are market leaders in their segments or at least on par with their rivals. But volumes are low. On the other hand, Mercedes has no electric models in the mid-size class.
This situation will change in 2026. Then, Mercedes will launch the Mercedes C-Class EV and GLC EV on the modern MB.EA platform with 800V technology. The new models will be able to charge up in just 15 minutes for a range of 350 km. The high charging capacity will enable Mercedes to compete with Kia/Hyundai and Tesla on charging speed.
The new Mercedes C-Class EV and GLC EV will be slightly larger than models with ICE engines to make room for the high-capacity batteries, as Mercedes promises ranges of up to 750 km. The Mercedes C-Class EV will also grow in size to differentiate itself from the new CLA EV that will debut early next year.
The new footprint will bring the C-Class EV closer to the EQE segment, which is based on a technically older platform.
Incidentally, the new CLA EV will also run on a more modern platform. The MMA (Mercedes Modular Architecture) was developed as “Electric First” but supports also conventional propulsion, while the electric version uses 800V technology, a silicon carbide inverter, new eATS 2.0 Drive motors, and a two-speed gearbox.
Under these conditions, it will be very difficult for the Mercedes EQE to stay on the market as the Mercedes CLA and Mercedes C-Class EV will have longer ranges and more modern platforms.
