Few will remember, but the original EQA was a concept electric sedan revealed in September 2017. Mercedes changed its mind and decided to repurpose the moniker for a crossover introduced in January 2021. We are in December 2022 and the three-pointed star seems to be planning another body style change. Our spies caught a heavily camouflaged prototype of an electric sedan driving around the company’s R&D center in Stuttgart.
It should be noted that Mercedes may have already provided a preview of this car. Last May, The Economics of Desire strategy update included a dark teaser image depicting the side profile of a new entry-level model. The silhouette presented by chief designer Gorden Wagener seems to match this first prototype, even if the thick disguise and tentative lights leave a lot to the imagination.
22 Pictures
Sitting below the already confirmed electric C-Class sedan, the new EQA will be an entirely different car than the crossover available today. We’re not just talking about the change in body style, but also the platform as it will use a dedicated EV architecture rather than an adaptation of the underpinnings originally intended for ICE cars. Called Mercedes-Benz Modular Architecture (MMA), the platform is expected to launch in 2024.
Lessons learned during the development of the Vision EQXX concept will be put to good use, so expect plenty of aero trickery to increase efficiency. The MMA architecture was originally announced in 2020 and will support compact and midsize cars. According to an announcement earlier this year, factories in Rastatt (Germany) and Kecskemét (Hungary) have been tasked with producing this new wave of models from 2024. Mercedes will reduce the number of compact cars from seven to four, the survivors those who receive a technological boost.
Mercedes entry-level car teaser
Christoph Starzynski, Mercedes-Benz’s vice president of development for electric propulsion, told us earlier this year that MMA would not be electric only, but rather electric first. He went on to say that the platform is being developed to accommodate combustion engines as well, “and the trade-off will be on the ICE side, not the EV side.” As we saw on the Vision EQXX, next-generation EVs could benefit from active aerodynamics and the unique anode chemistry of its air-cooled battery for higher density.
The MMA-based cars will use a new in-house developed infotainment system to cut costs. It’s called MB.OS and we’ll see it first in electric vehicles before coming to combustion engine models around the middle of the decade. It looks like the new hardware and software Mercedes is working on will premiere with this car, a compact sedan that seems to lack ICE.
By 2024, expect a lot more spy photos.
Few will remember, but the original EQA was a concept electric sedan revealed in September 2017. Mercedes changed its mind and decided to repurpose the moniker for a crossover introduced in January 2021. We are in December 2022 and the three-pointed star seems to be planning another body style change. Our spies caught a heavily camouflaged prototype of an electric sedan driving around the company’s R&D center in Stuttgart.
It should be noted that Mercedes may have already provided a preview of this car. Last May, The Economics of Desire strategy update included a dark teaser image depicting the side profile of a new entry-level model. The silhouette presented by chief designer Gorden Wagener seems to match this first prototype, even if the thick disguise and tentative lights leave a lot to the imagination.
22 Pictures
Sitting below the already confirmed electric C-Class sedan, the new EQA will be an entirely different car than the crossover available today. We’re not just talking about the change in body style, but also the platform as it will use a dedicated EV architecture rather than an adaptation of the underpinnings originally intended for ICE cars. Called Mercedes-Benz Modular Architecture (MMA), the platform is expected to launch in 2024.
Lessons learned during the development of the Vision EQXX concept will be put to good use, so expect plenty of aero trickery to increase efficiency. The MMA architecture was originally announced in 2020 and will support compact and midsize cars. According to an announcement earlier this year, factories in Rastatt (Germany) and Kecskemét (Hungary) have been tasked with producing this new wave of models from 2024. Mercedes will reduce the number of compact cars from seven to four, the survivors those who receive a technological boost.
Mercedes entry-level car teaser
Christoph Starzynski, Mercedes-Benz’s vice president of development for electric propulsion, told us earlier this year that MMA would not be electric only, but rather electric first. He went on to say that the platform is being developed to accommodate combustion engines as well, “and the trade-off will be on the ICE side, not the EV side.” As we saw on the Vision EQXX, next-generation EVs could benefit from active aerodynamics and the unique anode chemistry of its air-cooled battery for higher density.
The MMA-based cars will use a new in-house developed infotainment system to cut costs. It’s called MB.OS and we’ll see it first in electric vehicles before coming to combustion engine models around the middle of the decade. It looks like the new hardware and software Mercedes is working on will premiere with this car, a compact sedan that seems to lack ICE.
By 2024, expect a lot more spy photos.
