STUTTGART: Mercedes has been showing off a small electric car concept, the EQA, in a new video that takes us on a drive with an Italian landscape as the backdrop.
Manufacturers like Mercedes may generate a lot of attention and excitement around electrified cars with models with Formula One-like performance and price tags to match, but it's small, affordable electric cars that are going to matter most in the real world.
Despite being renowned for producing some ultra luxurious, ultra high-end cars, Mercedes also knows a thing or two about appealing to a wide audience with the likes of the A-Class and C-Class. It's therefore applying that expertise to producing a small electric car, the EQA, which has now made an appearance in a new video.
Unfortunately, Mercedes leaves us in no doubt about whether this is or isn't a production-ready model as at the end of the video it refers to the car as the "Concept EQA." The video may show the compact EV tearing up the Sicilian countryside and Mercedes does have advanced plans to launch such a vehicle, but it won't be exactly like this one.
What's obvious is this is an electrified version of the A-Class, although it's been dressed up in a more futuristic style to fit with its advanced electric powertrain. EQ is a new model designation designed to differentiate the company's upcoming all-electric models from the rest of the portfolio, which as well as this compact Tesla Model 3 competitor will also include an EQC crossover and an EQS that will be an electric take on the top of the range S-Class.
Mercedes intends to have no fewer than 10 models in its EQ range by 2022, and although they will be based on existing models such as the C-Class, E-Class etc., they will have a distinct styling that will mark them out as different to models using combustion engines.
The 10 new EVs Mercedes has in the pipeline are just part of a staggering 50 electrified models it plans to be offering by 2022. As well as the EVs, the 50 will also include plug-in hybrids, models with 48-volt electrical systems and even hydrogen fuel cells.
When the EQA made its debut last year at the Frankfurt Motor Show it was said to capable of getting from 0-100Kph in as little as 5 seconds and would have a maximum range on a single charge of around 400km.
