Mercedes planning new electric car range on new EV platform

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Mercedes-Benz has reportedly signed-off on a new platform for electric cars, with four new electric cars planned – two saloons and two crossovers.

With the Porsche Mission E electric super saloon and the Audi Q6 e-tron electric SUV/crossover already confirmed to be on the way to production, Mercedes-Benz is working hard to make sure it takes a piece of the burgeoning electric car market, as mainstream car makers take aim at Tesla’s head start.

Car Magazine is reporting that Mercedes has signed-off on an all new platform for electric vehicle architecture – the EVA platform – which will be used to underpin a quartet of new EVs – two saloon cars and two SUV/Crossover models.

The EVA platform is a development of Mercedes’ rear-drive MRA platform, but with space for a battery pack to fill the floor – just like Tesla – and the option to fit an electric motor to drive the rear wheels as well as an additional motor at the front for four-wheel drive variants, with the rear-wheel drive models getting at least 400bhp and the four-wheel drive models up to 600bhp.

Features include adaptive electric suspension, recuperative e-brakes and e-torque vectoring, with styling influenced by the Mercedes Concept IAA we saw at Frankfurt a few months ago.

The first new Mercedes EV to arrive will be a saloon pitched between the C-Class and E-Class, followed by an SUV that will be between the GLC and GLE. The saloon car will arrive in 2018.

Following on will be an S-Class-sized saloon car as well as a new super-sized electric SUV which will be bigger than the GLS.

The new Mercedes EVs will be built at Mercedes’ Bremen plant, with prices expected to start around £70,000.