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Mercedes partially unveils its 7-seater electric SUV, the EQS, which will be produced in the United States. This will benefit from new batteries whose cells are signed Envision AESC, the same supplier as the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance.
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Tuscaloosa, the former capital of the state of Alabama in the United States, is Mercedes’ main site, employing nearly 4,500 people. Since its opening in 1997, the American Mercedes factory has already produced nearly four million vehicles. It is also in Tuscaloosa that the next EQS and EQE electric SUVs will be produced, which share the same name as the recent EQS and EQE electric sedans.
The German manufacturer has lifted part of the veil of this large 7-seater SUV, the official presentation of which will take place on April 19, 2022. Like the large EQS sedan and its little sister EQE, this EQS SUV will be based on the EVA platform, dedicated to all-electric. However, this 7-seater SUV should be slightly shorter (5.16 m) than the electric sedan (5.23 m), understands the English automotive magazine Autocar. (source Autocar)
As for the engine, no surprise. The SUV should take over the architecture of the EQS 580 4Matic, namely two electric motors with a combined power of 385 kW powered by a lithium-ion battery pack of 109 kWh.
On the side of the battery, it will be manufactured in the new factory (production line 300 m long with 70 workstations) in Bibb County, still in the State of Alabama. High-performance cell chemistry that contains nickel, cobalt and manganese in an 8:1:1 ratio has seen its cobalt content reduced to 10%. These cells were provided by a new partner, Envision AESC, the same as that of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance.
For the record, Mercedes plans to build eight battery factories around the world (Germany, China, Thailand, Poland), whose production capacity should reach 200 GWh by the end of the decade.
The interior, a selling point
Still according to Autocar magazine, which quotes a senior executive from the brand with the star, it is above all the interior of the EQS SUV that will be “a convincing argument to buy this car“.
In addition to the presence of seven seats thanks to a third row (optional), the EQS SUV will receive the same driving position as the eponymous electric sedan with its famous MBUX Hyperscreen. It is a 141 cm diagonal Oled panel, i.e. a surface of 2,432 cm² treated against reflections and protected from scratches (Corning Gorilla Glass certification). In detail, it is divided into two screens of 12.3 inches (diagonal of 31.24 cm) and a third of 17.7 inches (diagonal of 44.95 cm).
As for passengers in the second row, there is no doubt that they should also benefit from touch screens, fixed behind the headrests of the front seats.
It remains to know the price of such an SUV, of which AMG versions would also be planned. According to Autocar, the British magazine, the EQS SUV should be presented in preview at the next motor show in Beijing in April. On the other hand, the EQE SUV, “little” brother of the EQS SUV, will be unveiled in November 2022 at the Guangzhou Motor Show (China).