Mercedes-Benz’s electric car line-up continues to grow with the debut of the Mercedes EQB at the 2021 Munich motor show ahead of a planned start to UK sales before the end of the year.
Set to rival the Audi Q4 E-tron, the EQB is based on the Mercedes GLB, alongside which it is produced at Mercedes-Benz’s plant in Kecskemet, Hungary for the UK market. Production will get underway later this month.
Munich motor show 2021: all the new cars and updates
The first variants to go on sale in Europe will be the four-wheel-drive EQB 300 4Matic, with 225bhp and 288lb ft, and the range-topping EQB 350, which bumps outputs up to 288bhp and 384lb ft for a 0-62mph time of 6.2 seconds – 1.8 seconds quicker than the entry car. Top speed for each is pegged at 99mph.
Each uses a a 66kWh lithium ion battery, produced by Mercedes-Benz sibling company Deutsche Accumotive, housed underneath the rear seat.
It can be charged at up to 11kW on an AC system and at up to 100kW on a DC set-up, and provides the compact SUV with a WLTP-certified range of 260 miles. As it showed the EQB in Europe for the first time, Mercedes confirmed a "particularly long range version" is on the horizon, though gave no details as to the size of its battery.
Also set to be added to the lin-up is the front-wheel-drive EQB 250. It's not expected to reach UK showrooms until 2022, but should represent a substantial cost saving over the two launch-spec cars.
As with the smaller EQA, with which it shares key elements of its drivetrain, the EQB receives its own individual exterior styling elements, including a blanked-off grille, to differentiate it from the combustion-engined car. There are also Mercedes EQC-aping light bands and new bumpers at the front and rear. Wheels range from 18in to 20in.
