Mercedes has teased its new Mercedes EQS SUV, which will sit at the top of its electric SUV line-up when it launches 19 April.
Mercedes will unwrap its new flagship electric EQS SUV 19 April, and a newly released teaser image of the car provides a glimpse at its styling.
Set to rival the BMW iX and Tesla Model X, the EQS SUV will adopt smooth, aero-optimised surfacing, with what appears to be a new LED running light design. Like Mercedes’ other electric models, a daytime running light strip will span a closed-off front grille, with a slim LED light bar featuring across the tailgate.
We’ve already spotted the brand’s large electric SUV during its pre-production testing programme, which gave a clearer look at its smooth, cab-forward design language, similar to the brand’s EQS electric sedan.
Since there’s no engine and gearbox eating up space in the chassis, the brand’s engineers have pushed the windscreen towards the front wheels for more cabin space compared with the combustion-engined GLS SUV.
Given the EQS SUV will be offered as a seven-seater, it should offer a solid level of practicality – and decent boot space in five-seat form.
Certain styling elements are familiar from other Mercedes EQ models, such as a lack of surface creases and a pair of bonnet bulges which are similar to the smaller EQA’s. Digital wing mirrors are a popular method of increasing range in electric cars, but the pre-production EQS SUV we spied is fitted with conventional units.
Mercedes’s design chief, Gordon Wagener previously discussed the EQS and upcoming EQE SUV’s design brief with Automotive Daily, saying: “They will look different in a similar way as I describe the EQS. They will be more seamless, more integrated, more aerodynamic, more futuristic looking, so it will be a new type of SUV.”
Mercedes has also pulled the covers off the interior of the EQS SUV, confirming that it will offer the same 55.5-inch Hyperscreen infotainment system found in the EQS sedan. The system uses a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a 17.7-inch central touchscreen and a third 12.3-inch unit for the passenger.
The huge screen isn’t the only interior feature taken from the EQS sedan, we can also see the same seats, steering wheel, split-opening central armrest and the ‘MBUX High-End Rear Seat Entertainment Plus package’ comprising a pair of 11.6-inch displays mounted on the front seatbacks.
Mercedes has also confirmed that an even more luxurious Maybach version of the EQS SUV is in the pipeline, which was previewed by a concept at last year’s Munich motor show. Britta Seeger, Mercedes’s head of marketing and sales, said during a brand electrification strategy update last year: “What applies to the Mercedes portfolio also applies to our incredibly strong sub brands – we want to go electric. So, you can look forward to a top-notch EQS SUV version of Mercedes-Maybach, for example.”
The EQS SUV should also adopt Mercedes’ Level 3 autonomous driving technology, which will allow the car to drive itself with limited driver supervision at speeds up to 60km/h when in slow-moving traffic.
Mercedes has also announced that battery production for the new EQS SUV and the EQE SUV will take place at a new plant in Alabama, USA.
Yousuf Ashraf