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Mercedes-Benz has revealed the new EQS electric luxury saloon, with a WLTP range of around 574 miles, 800V architecture, 350kW DC charging and steer-by-wire, the first German production car to offer the technology.
The new EQS represents a major mid-life overhaul rather than a full new generation. Mercedes says more than a quarter of all vehicle components have been newly developed, updated or refined, including a new electric architecture with 800V technology, in-house electric motors, a two-speed gearbox on the rear axle and larger batteries with optimised cell chemistry. Around 13% more range, around 60% faster parking and a step-change in charging speed are the main customer-facing results.
The EQS 450+ delivers the headline 574 miles range which is enough, Mercedes says, for Munich to Paris or Zurich to Hamburg without a charging stop. With 800V architecture and DC charging at up to 350kW, ten minutes of charging adds up to 198 miles of WLTP range. At 400V stations the battery splits virtually into two halves, each charged at up to 175kW for fast and efficient sessions. A new EQS 400 has been added as a more affordable entry point.
The headline interior change is steer-by-wire. Mercedes is the first German manufacturer to offer this in a series-production car and says it improves manoeuvring, parking and dynamics by removing the mechanical link between wheel and steering rack. A flatter steering wheel opens up the footwell and improves visibility of the driver display. A redundant signal architecture ensures lateral control is always maintained.
The MB.OS supercomputer underpins the new EQS. It controls every vehicle subsystem and is connected to the Mercedes Intelligent Cloud, with over-the-air updates available. The MBUX Hyperscreen returns with three displays under a single 55-inch glass surface, and the MBUX Virtual Assistant now uses AI from Microsoft to handle complex multi-part dialogues.
Other firsts include seat belt heating on the front seats using fibres integrated into the webbing that warm to 44C in cold weather and AIRMATIC suspension with cloud-based damper regulation that pre-adjusts damping just before known speed bumps, using anonymised Car-to-X data sent by Mercedes vehicles travelling ahead.
The DIGITAL LIGHT headlights are 40% larger in resolution while consuming up to 50% less energy. The ULTRA RANGE high beam reaches up to 600 metres. Drag coefficient is unchanged at 0.20.
Bidirectional charging will be enabled later via an over-the-air update, supporting both Vehicle-to-Grid and Vehicle-to-Home.
UK pricing and specification will be confirmed in due course.
