This year, Daimler’s annual board meeting was moved online. During this distanced gathering, Daimler CEO Ola Källenius made public that the production version of Mercedes’ upcoming electric flagship, the EQS sedan, will have the 435-mile (700km) range (by WLTP standard, not EPA) promised for the Vision EQS Concept. The production version will be heavily based on the concept all around.
That beats Tesla’s Model S (379mi by WLTP standard / 402mi by EPA) by a long stride. Mercedes-Benz even hinted that its EQS would also surpass the Tesla for luxury. At the moment, the Model S holds the spot for EV with the most extended range. However, there is another car called the Lucid Air, about to hit production, with a claimed 517mi range (EPA). The EPA test is American, and the WLTP is European. The EQS and the Lucid Air haven’t gone through either one of those test cycles yet, but have been tested by other means.
Källenius said this car would:
…mark a new era for Mercedes in terms of electrification. The EQS will set standards. More than 700 kilometers of driving range according to WLTP. With the EQS, the way we think about cars is changing. It is the first fully electric luxury sedan from Mercedes-Benz based on an all-electric architecture. This opens up entirely new possibilities – from the position of the batteries to the car’s design.
The Mercedes-Benz EQS is one of Germany’s first electric cars to take the plunge and go all-in with its design. No combustion powertrain will fit inside its pure-EV Modular Electric Architecture (MEA). A few other new recent arrivals (from other brands) include the BMW iX3, BMW i4, the Porsche Taycan, and the Volkswagen ID.3. Mercedes-Benz is planning to debut at least ten pure EV EQ-branded models by mid-decade.
The EQS will be manufactured in the company’s Sindelfingen factory near Stuttgart, Germany. The batteries will be made there too. The beauty will be on sale later this year in Europe.
