No more EQ: Mercedes ends naming chaos in electric cars
Created: 01/13/2023, 12:00 p.m
By: Simon Mones
Mercedes uses the suffix EQ for its electric cars.
By 2024 at the latest, however, this should be gone and become a technology brand.
When it comes to naming, you return to the old rules.
The future belongs to electric cars – that much is clear.
The manufacturers also want to convey this to their customers and are opting for new names.
At Volkswagen, the ID abbreviation is used, at Mercedes-Benz the Stromer names always begin with EQ (stands for Electric Intelligence).
The well-known designations are reserved for the burners.
But slowly but surely a rethinking is taking place.
VW also wants to build the Golf as an ID model.
Other models also have a future.
Mercedes goes even further and removes the EQ suffix from the model names.
The abbreviation has only been used since 2019.
At the latest with the switch to the new MMA platform for combustion engines and electric cars in the second half of 2024, the name EQ could disappear from the electric cars from Stuttgart, as the
Handelsblatt
learned from corporate circles.
No more EQ: Mercedes ends naming chaos in electric cars
The reason: Mercedes only wants to build Stromer in the future, so the addition is simply no longer necessary.
However, the end of the EQ has not yet been finally decided.
However, internally it is probably only a question of when the changeover should take place.
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When it comes to naming, Mercedes wants to return to the old system.
The EQE would then be the E-Class, for example.
The luxury sedan would become the S-Class and the EQC would become the GLC.
The combustion engines will keep these names until they go out at the end of the decade.
No more EQ: return to old names for Mercedes customers an advantage
This would have a clear advantage for the customers of the brand with the star: the current naming chaos at Mercedes would end with it.
Best example: the EQA.
This is not the electric version of the A-Class (which doesn't even exist), but the power equivalent of the SUV GLA.
The situation is similar with the EQB whose counterpart is the GLB.
The Mercedes EQA is not an electric A-Class.
© TT/Imago
With both models, however, this is not so problematic as they are discontinued anyway.
However, other models such as the CLA show that the change is necessary.
Both EQA and EQC are already occupied.
So what name should the coupe get?
So how do you differentiate the CLA from the normal C-Class.
The situation is similar for sedans and SUVs.
For the EQS and EQE, Mercedes has opted for the additional SUV.
However, this designation is "rather unfortunate," said an executive to the
Handelsblatt
.
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No more EQ: Mercedes keeps name as a technology brand
Turning EQ off would get rid of this problem and eliminate customer confusion.
The electric version of the G-Class, which will be launched in 2024, also shows that this path will probably be taken.
This keeps its name instead of being baptized EQG.
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Even if you remove the EQ abbreviation from the names of the electric cars, the brand should not disappear completely.
In the future, it will be a technology brand for accessories and services related to electromobility.
Instead of cars, the EQ logo is then used on wall boxes, loading lists or energy storage devices.
It is quite possible that Mercedes will also use it for its own charging network.
