• The letters EQ identifying electric models at Mercedes-Benz will eventually be dropped by the manufacturer.
• The company first announced its adoption of the EQ letters for its EVs back in 2016.
• According to German media outlet Handelsblatt, the transition will begin in 2024.
When it launched its electric model division, Mercedes-Benz introduced the letters EQ to identify them. That quickly becomes repetitive and can be confusing for buyers, especially when you consider that gasoline models are still in the lineup with their own nomenclature.
Let's just say it's more complicated than what we see from Chevrolet with its Blazer and its upcoming Blazer EV.
According to German outlet Handelsblatt, citing sources within the company, the whole thing is set to change. Specifically, Mercedes-Benz is expected to abandon the EQ identification as early as the next generation of compact cars, which are expected to be marketed from late 2024.
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The reason is simple. Once the range is fully electrified, it will be superfluous to use letters that were originally intended to distinguish these models from others. There will no longer be a need to identify EVs particularly, since all models will be EVs.
The EQ sub-brand was announced in 2016. The first all-electric model was the EQC electric SUV, launched in 2019.
A spokesman for Mercedes' EQ products division said the brand was an important pillar of the automaker's electrification strategy. He also added that the company was for adapting the positioning of its vehicles and the use of the EQ letters according to the situation, but that it was still too early to deliver any details about it.
On the Canadian side, Zach Paget, Head of Product and Media Communications, had this to say about the news:
“It is still important to us to underpin our strategic pillar "Lead in Electric" with the brand Mercedes-EQ. With the EQ models, we address customers who feel particularly addressed by progressiveness and innovative strength in the field of e-mobility. With the aim of becoming fully electric from our parent brand Mercedes-Benz by the end of the decade, we will adapt the positioning of the vehicles and thus also the use of the brand in a contemporary way, but it is still too early for details.”