The Mercedes C-Class is not getting an all-electric version anytime soon. Mercedes still plans to release a similar-sized, zero-emission model, but it will be badged as an EQ model. The C-Class will still be offered as a hybrid and plug-in hybrid in the future but, as far as an all-electric C-Class is concerned, don’t count on it happening anytime soon.

Word of this development comes to us from Mercedes C-Class chief engineer, Christian Frueh. In a conversation with Autocar, Frueh conformed Mercedes’ plan to build an electric saloon that will have a similar size than the C-Class. But, instead of badging it as part of the C-Class family, Mercedes is developing it as an EQ model to help grow its new family of electric cars.

The strategy is similar to the company’s plans to also offer a large electric saloon for the new EQ sub-brand, foregoing the possibility of a zero-emission S-Class from ever seeing the light of day.

Details about the EQ version of the C-Class are still being kept under wraps, but don’t expect it to be called the EQ C since that nameplate is already reserved for the all-electric SUV that’s scheduled to launch in the coming years as one of the first EQ models to hit the market. Fortunately, Mercedes still has a long list of names it can pick from to put on this model. Hard to imagine the automaker finding any difficulty slotting another name considering it has the whole alphabet to work with.

The all-electric EQ model will be included in Mercedes’ plan to launch as many as ten new electric models by 2025. We can already identify a few of them, including the EQ A subcompact and the EQ C SUV. Throw in the two EQ sedans, and you’re already looking at four of the 10 EQ-badged models that will arrive in the next seven years.

As far as the C-Class goes, Mercedes is on top of that game, too. The model just received a mid-cycle refresh that now includes the C300de, a plug-in hybrid that also includes a diesel engine. It will sit opposite the C300e, which offers the same plug-in setup, albeit with a gasoline engine under its hood.

References

Read our full review on the 2018 Mercedes C-Class.

Read more Mercedes-Benz news.