Mercedes-Benz EQE teased

The 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQE electric sedan and the first battery-powered AMG luxury saloon will head a long list of premieres from the German car-maker at the Munich motor show in September.

The still-secret AMG EV is strongly tipped to be based on the Mercedes-Benz EQS limo tested by carsales only last week and is expected in Australia early in 2022.

The slightly smaller EQE is also expected to arrive in Australia in 2022, albeit much later in the year.

Also breaking cover in Munich, which takes over the auto show slot previously occupied by the Frankfurt IAA, will be the first Mercedes-AMG performance hybrid.

To be marketed under the E Performance label, it’s almost certainly the four-door 2022 Mercedes-AMG GT73e – and given our consumption of AMG models in Australia, it too seems guaranteed to come our way.

Other electrified premieres include a Mercedes-Maybach concept probably based on the EQS and a preview of the all-new smart crossover.

The first Mercedes-Benz C-Class All-Terrain has also been confirmed as breaking cover in Munich and could join the new range which starts rolling out here late in 2021.

Completing the line-up is the European debut of the Mercedes-Benz EQB seven-seat SUV – Australia is on the list, but maybe not until 2023 – that had its world debut in Beijing, and the new S-Class Guard armoured limousine.

Not seeing the light of day in Munich but promised by Mercedes-Benz to appear in 2022 are the EQE SUV, EQS SUV and the Maybach EQS SUV.

Benz offered little on the AMG apart from promising it would stick true to the brand’s DNA: “This applies not only to its performance figures, but more especially to its involving and emotional handling.”

Slightly more was said about the EQE.

“Mercedes-EQ will showcase with the EQE how sporty and comfortable an electric business saloon can be,” a press release stated.

“The car combines dynamic performance and handling with relaxed travel – and sets the new benchmark in its class. The same applies to its generous interior space, while the one-bow bodyshell design gives the EQE an athletic physique.”

That ‘one-bow’ shape is obvious from the teaser image issued by Mercedes-Benz overnight, along with a light strip across the boot and pronounced fender flares reminiscent of the ‘Ponton’ Benz models of the 1950s.

A picture of the cockpit reveals a digitally-driven space very similar to the EQS, including the new Hyperscreen that turns the entire dashboard into a screen.

Benz has previously confirmed the EQE is based on version 2.0 of its EVA platform that first appeared under the EQC SUV. Dimensionally, EQE is only slightly smaller than EQS and is described as a “business limousine of the future”.

It relates to the orthodox E-Class in the same way the EQS sits alongside the combustion-engined S-Class.

Powertrain details for the EQE have not been officially confirmed, but media reports indicate it could share the EQC’s all-wheel drive dual-motor layout. AMG models are also expected down the track.

The Mercedes-Maybach concept “conveys a first, precise impression of how the 100-year tradition of ultimate automotive luxury can be carried forward into a new era”.  Now you know.

Benz’s Munich announcements come just a few days after it revealed a ramp-up of its transition to an electric future, committing to a pure EV line-up “where market conditions allow”.

There was no mention of the EQXX concept appearing in Munich. It has now twice been teased – in October 2020 and earlier this month. Benz has suggested the EQXX has a 1200km range between recharges.