Mercedes’ first all-electric SUV will arrives in the market
in 2020. The German manufacturer will reveal the production version of the EQ C
in 2019, which is expected to be powered by a pair of electric motors with a
combined output of over 400 hp as previewed by the 2016 EQ concept.
The test car you see in the spy shots is still
heavily camouflaged, using body extensions on the bonnet and bumpers to hide
its design features but the overall shape remains pretty familiar.
Dimension-wise, the electric EQ C will fall somewhere
between the GLC and GLE models but it will use Daimler’s new EVA architecture
that’s designed specifically for battery-electric vehicles. Mercedes plans to
launch no less than four different bodystyles on the electric-only platform for
its EQ model range.
As with every other premium electric vehicle, the
Mercedes EQ C will have its battery pack mounted on the floor in order to keep
the weight center as low as possible. Mercedes wants the EQ C to offer up to 500 km of driving between full charges.
Mercedes is keen to give the EQ C a more
fun-to-drive character, with the model’s chief engineer Michael Kelz saying
“The pre-production EQ C offers a very safe driving feel and is also so much
fun that it leaves a permanent smile on its driver’s face.”
Production of the Mercedes EQ C is expected to start
in Bremen in 2019, with the company probably picking that year’s Frankfurt
Motor Show for the official reveal.
