Mercedes-Benz Stop Development Of Its Luxury Electric Car Platform, Here's Why

Mercedes-Benz EQE. (Doc. Mercedes-Benz AG)

JAKARTA - Shocking news came from the Mercedes-Benz camp. The reason is, this well-known automotive manufacturer is rumored to be reducing investment significantly in the development of a luxury EV platform by stopping the construction of the MB.EA Large architecture.

Autocar reported on Wednesday, May 15, the platform's development has been canceled. The report said the decision was taken because it reflected on the poor sales of EQE and EQS models.

The termination of this development is reported to save investment of around 4 billion euros and 6 billion euros (around IDR 69.6 trillion to IDR 104.5 trillion).

The luxury manufacturer originally planned to develop two versions of the MB.EA platform, namely MB.EA Medium for the latest EQC sedan and SUV and MB.EA Large for larger, more premium vehicles.

Previously, the MB.EA Large platform was planned to launch in 2028 and will be used in various models such as the successors to EQE and EQS.

In addition, the termination of the project also provides room for Mercedes-Benz in developing the seventh generation S-Class successor, fourth generation GLE SUV, third generation GLE Coupe, and third generation GLS as combustion cars with plug-in hybrid.

With the cancellation of the development, Mercedes-Benz intends to further develop the EVA2 platform (the basis of existing EQE and EQS models) with the 800V charging architecture replacing the 400V currently in use.

Other planned changes to the EVA2 platform include new battery cell technology and more efficient electric motors to increase reach.

Along with MB.EA Medium, the company has strong plans to further develop the latest MMA platform for compact EVs, MB.AMG for sports cars, and MB.VAN for commercial vehicles.