Few will remember it, but the original EQA was a conceptual electric hatchback that was revealed in September 2017. Mercedes changed its mind and decided to reuse the moniker for the crossover that was introduced in January 2021. It’s December 2022 and the three-pointed star appears to be planning another body styling change. . Our spies have captured a heavily camouflaged electric sedan prototype being driven around the company’s R&D center in Stuttgart.
It should be noted Mercedes may have given an early preview of this car. Back in May, the “The Economics of Desire” strategy update included a shadowy teaser image depicting the side profile of the new entry-level model. The silhouette presented by chief designer Gorden Wagener seems to match this early prototype, although the heavy camouflage and temporary lights leave much to the imagination.
22 Photo
Beneath the already confirmed electric C-Class Sedan, the new EQA will be a completely different car from the currently available crossovers. We’re not just talking about body styling changes, but also platforms as it will use a custom EV architecture rather than the basic adaptation originally intended for ICE cars. Dubbed the Mercedes-Benz Modular Architecture (MMA), the platform will premiere in 2024.
Lessons learned while developing the Vision EQXX concept will be put to good use, so lots of aero tricks to improve efficiency are expected. The MMA architecture was originally announced in 2020 and will support compact and midsize cars. Based on an announcement made earlier this year, the Rastatt (Germany) and Kecskemét (Hungary) factories have been tasked with producing this wave of new models from 2024. Mercedes will reduce the number of compact cars from seven to four, with the remainder getting a technology boost.
Mercedes entry-level car teaser
Christoph Starzynski, Mercedes-Benz’s vice president of electric drive development, told us earlier this year that MMA would not be solely electric, but primarily electric. He went on to say platforms are being developed to also accommodate combustion engines, “and the compromises will be on the ICE side, not the EV side.” As we’ve seen with the Vision EQXX, the next-generation EV could get aero active and the battery’s unique anode chemistry is air-cooled for higher densities.
MMA-based cars will use a new, in-house developed infotainment system to cut costs. It’s called MB.OS and we’ll see it first in EVs before arriving in combustion engine models sometime in the middle of this decade. It looks like the new hardware and software Mercedes is working on will make its debut with this car, a compact sedan that doesn’t appear to have an ICE.
Between now and 2024, stay tuned for more spy shots.
