Mercedes-Benz has begun testing the all-electric variant of the GLB which will be
called the EQB as per Mercedes’ new electric vehicle nomenclature. Two Mercedes EQB
prototypes spotted in northern Sweden “wearing” the GLB bodywork for the first time. Mercedes attached a sticker to the windshield that reads “Electric.”
That’s something the automaker only puts on its fully electric prototypes.
Not much is known so far about the EQB other than
it’s expected to offer a 500-km driving range from the same
lithium-ion battery as the upcoming EQA electric compact. Expect one electric
motor on each axle for AWD capability. The EQB is also rumored to adopt an
aerodynamically optimized GLB-based body. That could explain why Mercedes keeps
the prototypes fully camouflaged when the regular GLBs feature way less
camouflage.
It’s understandable that Mercedes wants to keep
hidden the EQB’s styling updates over the GLB. We can’t tell anything by
looking at the prototypes but the fact that they don’t feature the final
production lights tells us the Mercedes EQB EV will be easy to distinguish from
the GLB.
Speaking of the GLB, besides the regular gasoline
and diesel versions the boxy compact SUV will offer a gasoline-electric plug-in
hybrid variant with an expected EV driving range of 100 km. The PHEV
will use a 2.0-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine and gearbox-mounted electric
motor to drive the front wheels as well as a second rear axle-mounted motor to
power the rear wheels. Both motors will source energy from a lithium-ion
battery mounted under the vehicle floor.
