The Mercedes Benz EQS Will Be the First Model Sold Under its New 'EQ' Sub-brand in the U.S.

author: Manish Kharinta   

The Mercedes Benz EQS concept.

German luxury automaker Mercedes Benz's electrification strategy is picking up pace and the marquee brand is making some serious progress with its electric powertrains. The automaker announced that it plans to add all-electric versions of its Maybach, AMG, and G-Wagon nameplates to its portfolio in the near future. 

However much to the disappointment of performance enthusiasts around the world, the company has also confirmed that it will soon end the production of its manual gearbox along with several internal combustion engines as part of an aggressive cost-cutting initiative. The company intends to use its new electrified models to substitute the soon to be discontinued products.

Mercedes-Benz is also pivoting its electrification plans for the United States. A spokesperson for the company recently announced that the Mercedes EQ sub-brand will introduce an all-electric version of the flagship S-Class in the U.S., which will be dubbed the EQS. 

This means that the EQC SUV will not be the only EV that Mercedes will offer in North America. The EQC was initially scheduled to make its stateside debut in 2020, but the launch was postponed to 2021 due to the global pandemic.

Instead the Stuttgart-based automaker will unveil the 2022 EQS sedan version in spring next year. The model is expected to hit dealerships across America in the summer of 2022. 

The electric EQC SUV.

Mercedes Benz plans to electrify its entire vehicle portfolio, all the way down to the entry-level A-Class range of vehicles. The announcement was made by the Chairman of Daimler Group, Ola Kallenius during a telephone round table conference.

As of now, Mercedes-Benz has not proposed a tentative timeline for the EQC all-electric SUV.  The company did however recently showcase an all-terrain version of the battery-only SUV called the EQC 4X4 which is a spiritual successor to the new E-Class All-Terrain wagon in many ways. 

Kallenius also disclosed this summer that the automaker will introduce a battery-only version of the G-Class SUV.  

The company's upcoming all-electric EQS sedan will be built on a dedicated EV architecture and will be produced out of the company's EV manufacturing facility in Sindelfingen, Germany. The luxury electric sedan will offer over 430 miles of driving range as per WLTP standards. 

Delaying the introduction of EQC SUV in North America might prove to be a setback for Mercedes, considering the growing popularity of fully electric SUVs. However, the company has confirmed that sales of the EQC are growing impressively in Europe and that in September alone, Mercedes sold 2,500 units of the electric SUV.

Manish Kharinta

Manish Kharinta is a automotive writer based in the Los Angeles area. He has worked for automotive industry websites TheSmokingClutch.com, CarDekho.com and CarBikeindia.com. His experience ranges from covering auto shows, to car reviews and breaking automotive news. Manish aims to bring forth his unique perspective on automotive design and technological innovations in the automotive industry.