Mercedes announced the EQ name in 2016 as a new sub-brand for its battery electric vehicles. The company’s first EQ-branded model launched in 2019, but the name could already be on its way out by the time it’s new Handelsblatt report is correct.
According to the German publication Mercedes will drop the EQ designation from its BEVs beginning in 2024 and return to its traditional naming structure. One of the report’s sources said that Mercedes would no longer need a separate sub-brand for its BEVs once the automaker stops producing internal combustion engine cars. The report also noted that the decision to kill the EQ sub-brand has already been made, and it’s just a question of when it will happen that remains unanswered within the automaker.
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Another insider shared Handelsblatt that the latest Mercedes could remove the branding from its cars once BEV sales surpass the brand’s petrol and diesel vehicles. One of the first models to buck the EQ trend could be the electric G classis expected to go on sale in 2024. The automaker is also launching itss new MMA architecture in the same year. Mercedes first developed the platform for BEVs, but can accommodate gas and diesel powertrains as needed Handelsblatt reached out to Mercedes, but the automaker declined to comment on the speculation.
While EQ branding will disappear from future Mercedes models, the company isn’t abandoning the name entirely. The automaker wants to use the branding as a technology brand for EV accessories and services such as wall boxes, charging services and more. Mercedes announced this at CES last week plans to invest $1 billion in an EV charging network in North Americawhich could be a perfect receiver for the EQ name.
When Handelsblatt Noted, the move should make it easier for customers to navigate Mercedes’ crowded lineup. names like C class, E classand S class have recognition among customers and names like EQE SUV and EQS SUV are not the strongest if they are the electrical equivalents of the popular ones GLE and GLS. Mercedes has poured a lot of resources into the brand, but its demise seems inevitable as EQ moves from a simple sub-brand to the core of the automaker’s lineup.
