There is no typo in the headline.
The EQC is still not available for purchase if you are a resident of the United States. This is Mercedes-Benz’s first electric production vehicle. The EV SUV can be found on the official brand website. According to the last news report, the company had plans to move this model’s launch date for 2021. The brand is working on the next generation of EQC, despite it sounding strange.
The first spy photos of an EQC prototype are now available. They show a test car with no pipes that is roughly the same size and shape as the current model. Although the lamps in the front and back are temporary and there are some fake panels on the body, this mule gives us an idea of the vehicle’s dimensions.
Let’s get to the million-dollar question: Why is Mercedes working on a successor to today’s model, even though it isn’t yet on sale in the United States? The EVA-I architecture is used in the first-gen EQC, which is also used in the C-Class and GLC. This platform was designed for combustion engines and has limited space for batteries.
However, the new EQC will be based on a new, EV dedicated architecture. This architecture should also support a number other compact EVs made by the brand. The new platform will be able to accommodate a larger battery pack, and it should offer other benefits than the current one.
The initial details indicate that Mercedes has given the EQC the go-ahead to launch the new model sometime in 2022. This could mean that customers in the US will not receive the first-gen model.