Mercedes-Benz takes another U-turn in its strategy for the transition to electric mobility

Sales of the electric models in the EQ family of Mercedes-Benz falling short of the company’s expectations are prompting a succession of measures and changes of heart from the German manufacturer. The first of these came a couple of months ago, when the company announced that it was giving up on becoming an exclusively electric-vehicle manufacturer by 2030, as it had originally planned.

The unveiling of the new EQS, with a much more classic design and a far less futuristic grille, more similar to the one fitted to combustion-engine models, was also confirmation of a change of direction by the German manufacturer, trying to return, to a certain extent, to its roots.

But that is not the end of it, as the differentiation of Mercedes-Benz’s electric range is also set to suffer a major setback. The company appears to have decided to stop using the name EQ followed by another letter to designate its electric models. Instead, Mercedes-Benz intends to keep the name used for its combustion versions, indicating that a vehicle is electric by adding the suffix “with EQ technology“.

Goodbye to the EQG

The first example of what we are discussing is the new electric off-roader of the German manufacturer’s G-Class, which keeps its classic name – G580 in this case – and adds the tag “with EQ technology” to indicate that it is a fully electric vehicle.

“This is the first vehicle in which we are going to keep our product name and focus on the technology inside it. From now on, in most cases you will see that the combustion-engine and electric versions are almost identical. This is why we have decided to call it a G-Class model with EQ technology, rather than calling it EQG or something similar. This will be the new nomenclature we use going forward.”

It is important to note, however, that current models such as the EQE or EQS will keep the same name. However, new models coming onto the market will receive a designation following this new policy. This will be the case, for example, of the upcoming electric CLA which will almost certainly be called “CLA with EQ technology“.

Mercedes-Benz justifies this new strategy by arguing that names such as the S-Class, E-Class or G-Class have recognition and have earned respect even among competing brands. Changing these designations simply because they now feature a fully electric propulsion system makes no sense, they now assert.