Mercedes will use the designation “with EQ expertise” moderately than naming its EVs with separate “EQ” mannequin names, to deal with treating them extra like regular fashions – in what this writer considers an overdue transfer.
For a few years now, Mercedes has added “EQ” to the mannequin title of its electrical fashions, as within the Mercedes EQS, EQE and so forth. It’s meant to face for “electrical intelligence,” a play on the idea of “IQ.”
The conference began with Mercedes’ EQ idea automobiles, first named as such in 2016 (particular point out right here for the superior EQA scorching hatch idea, which ended up turning into an SUV… sigh).
Since then, Mercedes has carried it over into all of its electrical fashions, treating “EQ” as a separate sub-brand or a mannequin line by itself, to tell apart it from the corporate’s staid fossil-powered choices.
However that has led to some confusion amongst consumers. With fashions named EQA, EQB, EQC, EQE, EQE SUV, EQS, EQS SUV, EQV, and EQT, it begins to seem like alphabet soup.
Mercedes observed this confusion and commented on it again in 2023, when it first introduced its plan to drop EQ branding from its mannequin names.
Mercedes consumers are used to the conference of naming autos with lettering based mostly on physique model and numbers based mostly on engine displacement. However for the EV line, all autos share the letters “EQ,” which may lead clients to assume that there’s some similarity between them, and engine displacement doesn’t actually make any sense to use to an EV. So there’s room for confusion there.
As an alternative, Mercedes now says it is going to comply with the conference it established with the discharge of the electrical G-Class, which it formally calls “G580 with EQ expertise.” That “with EQ expertise” portion will stick and be carried via different Mercedes EVs, just like the upcoming electrical CLA. Plug-in hybrids will use “with EQ hybrid expertise” as their designation.
Mercedes is treating this as considerably of a compromise between dropping “EQ” solely and nonetheless sustaining continuity with its previous electrical fashions. On this approach, there’s nonetheless a method to inform {that a} mannequin is electrical, however they are going to be handled extra like “regular” fashions throughout the mannequin vary, as an alternative of as a separate sub-brand.
Alongside these adjustments, Mercedes has additionally signaled a return to extra “conventional” designs for its EVs, resembling a pretend grille for the 2025 EQS and maybe much less streamlined exterior shapes for upcoming EVs.
Electrek’s Take
It’s a little bit of a mouthful, particularly on the primary accessible mannequin with such naming, the G580 with EQ Know-how – however we anticipate that individuals will begin calling it “the electrical G-Class” or “G-Class EQ” (maybe an identical remedy to how individuals use AMG) or thereabouts, and that as different fashions achieve the identical designation, they are going to get the identical colloquial remedy till it will definitely feels regular. (Though, we nonetheless don’t know what the “580” means in that title).
And, I’ve lengthy thought that automakers ought to do one thing like this, and deal with electrical fashions as regular fashions moderately than some overseas factor.
We’ve seen lots of odd naming conventions from automakers as they struggle to determine what to name their EVs – like Audi, which initially launched the E-tron as a singular idea mannequin and later ended up utilizing it as a designation for something with an electrical motor, or BMW, which began a separate “Projekt i” sub-brand within the early days (with truly fascinating designs for as soon as), then killed it off, then introduced again the “i” to make extra conventional-looking autos.
My concept is that by treating fashions as one thing overseas, one thing totally different, you create an inside battle throughout the group, confusion amongst clients, and all-in-all make the EVs appear much less like a “regular” selection {that a} purchaser may make. It virtually feels such as you’d need to go to a separate dealership, discuss to a separate specialist, with the intention to discover an EV. It provides one other layer of friction which may push clients away.
However EVs don’t should be totally different and peculiar, particularly right here in 2025 the place nearly everybody at this level has seen them, taken rides in them, has a good friend who has one, or one thing of the type. And if the whole auto business goes to affect – which, I feel it bears repeating, is going on and is inevitable, irrespective of who tries to cease it – sooner or later we have to drop this concept that EVs are “one thing else” and acknowledge that they’re simply automobiles.
So, why not name EVs one thing regular? Each gasoline automobile will get its personal title – Tucson, Elantra, Camry, Palisade – so why can’t EVs simply be regular too? Let’s get extra Taycans, extra Dolphins, extra Leafs.
And, that is one step alongside the best way in direction of that for Mercedes, and that’s a very good factor. Different automakers ought to contemplate the identical.
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