What's all this about?
Presumably a result of the enormous jolt (sorry, bad pun...) that electric vehicle (EV) purveyor Tesla has inflicted on the motoring industry, traditional manufacturers are scrambling to get a wide array of pure EVs onto the market as soon as possible. Mercedes-Benz is one of those in a hurry and it wants to have ten EVs in showrooms by 2022. And this could be one of them. It's called the Mercedes-Benz Concept EQA and it's what would happen if the German company decided to make an all-electric version of something the size of an A-Class.
It's very smooth, isn't it?
Indeed so, as the EQA is an evolution of Mercedes' 'Sensual Purity' design language, which means less edges and more curves. Laser-fibre lights stud the minimalist bodywork and at the front is a black-panel 'virtual radiator grille'. This can display either a flaming, horizontal wing graphic or vertical slats like a Panamericana grille, according to whether the EV is in Sport or Sport Plus modes.
So is this EV focused on performance over piety?
Not really, no. It has two electric motors that can kick out more than 200kW (272hp) to all corners of the car via permanent four-wheel drive, the torque split for front-to-rear adjusting according to whether the EQA is in Sport or Sport Plus. But in reality, Mercedes wants you to know that the concept can do around 250 miles on a single charge of its 60kWh+ lithium-ion battery pack.
And how can you recharge that big Li-ion unit?
Mercedes says recharging can be done either via a wallbox at home, through rapid charging points out in public, or even inductively on wireless pads.
Anything else?
"With the Mercedes-Benz Concept EQA, our electric initiative is gathering pace: by 2022 Mercedes-Benz Cars will have more than ten all-electric vehicles on the market," said Dr Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars.
Is that it for Mercedes' EQ EV sub-brand?
Not quite. Alongside the EQA in Frankfurt is the Smart Vision EQ Fortwo http://www.carenthusiast.com/news/article/11653/-/2017-Smart-ForTwo+EQ/Fully+autonomous+Smart.html, which we've already brought you full details on in a previous news piece.
Matt Robinson - 12 Sep 2017
