The future Mercedes-Benz GLB, expected to launch towards the end of 2019, will also get the all-electric EQ B variant, Autocar.co.uk informs. The range of the emission-free model will clock at approximately 500 kilometers (310 miles).
Codenamed X247, the seven-seater GLB will come into the world to fight rivals such as BMW X1 and Audi Q3, while it will slot above the already existing GLA in the Mercedes-Benz range. The car should be introduced next fall, at the Frankfurt Motor Show and it should hit the road sometime next year.
Petrol and diesel engines will find room underneath the robust bonnet of the GLB, as spy shots suggest, with plug-in hybrid and emission-free all-electric variants following, as part of the company’s commitment to launch over 130 electrified models by the end of 2022. Therefore, we should expect the 1.3-liter and the 2.0-liter petrol engines and the 2.0-liter diesel unit to set the conventionally-powered models in motion. Meanwhile, the plug-in hybrid should get the 2.0-liter 4-cylinder petrol engine, an electric motor and a lithium-ion battery fitted within the floor of the future compact SUV.
The EQ B, powered by two electric motors that provide it with all-wheel drive, is expected to run for approximately 500 kilometers (310 miles) between two charges.
The GLB would be the eight model of the Mercedes-Benz compact family, built on the MFA II platform, but the elongated wheelbase of 2,789 mm (60 mm longer than the standard A-Class), will only be shared with the A-Class saloon built in China for China. Mercedes will fit the SUV with a long rear overhand in order to provide it with a spacious luggage compartment. The design of the GLB will be inspired by the rectangular G-Class, with straight lines and angular looks, but with a better drag co-efficient.
The interior of the GLB will mimic that of the A-Class models, thus hosting the new infotainment system together with the artificial intelligence-based MBUX operating system.
The long awaited seven-seats SUV will be introduced at the Frankfurt Motor Show this upcoming October and will most likely go on sale in the beginning of 2020.
