Mercedes-Benz will offer a traditional grille on its EQS electric limousine as part of a wider overhaul designed to reverse a sales slump for the flagship EV.
The Mercedes EQS will be offered with either a newly designed conventional grille with the three-pointed star mounted on the bonnet or with the current, sleeker-looking grille with the star emblazoned onto the surface.
“Some [customers] will want to keep a more sporty look and have the star integrated in the panel, and some we believe will want to have the more traditional look,” CEO Ola Källenius told investors on Mercedes' recent earnings call.
The company flashed up an image of what appeared to be the new grille during the analyst event, highlighting its similarity to the one used by the S-Class.
The EQS will also be fitted with a uprated battery with new chemistry that will improve range, Källenius said.
The updated EQS will be available from June, although cars with the new battery will likely go into production before that, he said.
The new battery is expected to be the same upgraded pack recently installed in the EQS SUV, which has been expanded from 108kWh to 118kWh.
In the EQS SUV, the pack adds another 31 miles of official range, potentially meaning the range of the EQS saloon could be pushed close to 500 miles.
The EQS will also gain the option of “executive seats”, Kallenius said without going into detail. The option is likely to swap out the rear bench for two individual seats that can recline.
Sales of the EQS fell back last year as customers in the sector either stuck to ICE models or bought newer EV models, including the BMW i7. In the UK, EQS sales fell 17% to 616. Across Europe, sales almost halved.
Källenius said he was relaxed about the EQS’s performance against the combustion-engine S-Class, however.
“Many customers in that segment view the S-Class and the sibling cars as kind of the ne plus ultra that they want to have and we don't mind,” he told investors.
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It's a shame they turned the production version into a weird pastiche of the beautiful concept version. They would have been better off not using the concept as a starting point, than murdering it so horribly.