Electric Mercedes EQA gatecrashes the Mercedes GLA launch

At the launch of the new Mercedes GLA, Mercedes gave us a first look at the electric Mercedes EQA on the screen ahead of its debut in 2020.

Yesterday saw the debut of the new Mercedes GLA, as Mercedes turned the GLA in to an SUV, rather than a high-riding hatch, and completed its A-Class range. Well, almost.

Still to come is an electric A-Class, first previewed by the EQA Concept more than two years ago, and Mercedes made sure we got a first look at the production version of that concept by popping up a photo of it on the screen behind Mercedes CEO Ola Källenius at the GLA launch.

But rather than the production EQA being a sleek hatch, like the Concept EQA, it seems Mercedes is going the more pragmatic route of making the EQA an electric take on the new GLA.

Of course, the high riding GLA makes it much easier to accommodate the batteries under the floor than a hatch would, and the Crossover/SUV genre is still very much the Zeitgeist for car buyers.

But despite the move to the high riding GLA look for the EQA, you can still expect some of the design cues from the Concept EQA – like the rounded bumpers and blanked-off grille – to survive, and the powertrain of the EQA is expected to be similar to the specs of the concept.

That would mean a pair of electric motors – one on each axle – good for up to 268bhp and a battery pack of around 60kWh, although single motor versions and different battery capacities seem likely to be offered too.

The Mercedes EQA is set to launch later in 2020.