- Mercedes-Benz on Tuesday unveiled an electric van concept, called the Concept EQV.
- The automaker said a production version of the vehicle will debut in September at the International Motor Show, but did not specify when the vehicle will become available to customers.
- The Concept EQV has a 249-mile range on a 100 kWh battery that can receive 62 miles of range from a 15-minute charge.
- The Concept EQV resembles an idea mentioned by Tesla CEO Elon Musk in a 2016 blog post.
Mercedes-Benz on Tuesday unveiled an electric van concept, called the Concept EQV.
The automaker said a production version of the vehicle will debut in September at the International Motor Show, but did not specify when the vehicle will become available to customers.
Read more: 18 hot cars we can’t wait to see at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show
The Concept EQV has a 249-mile range on a 100 kWh battery that can receive 62 miles of range from a 15-minute charge. The concept vehicle has 201 horsepower and a top speed of 99 mph. Its interior allows for multiple seating configurations with a maximum capacity of eight people.
The Concept EQV resembles an idea mentioned by Tesla CEO Elon Musk in a 2016 blog post. Musk said at the time that Tesla was developing a "high passenger-density urban transport" vehicle and suggested it would be smaller than a bus. But Musk would later say he had doubts about the utility of an electric bus, saying instead that a version of Tesla’s Model X SUV with around 10 to 12 seats would be more practical.
Bloomberg reported in February that Tesla and Mercedes-Benz were in talks about a potential collaboration on an electric version of Mercedes-Benz’s Sprinter van following a tweet from Musk expressing interest in the project.
"We are in talks with Tesla regarding a potential collaboration. These conversations have an open outcome. We are often in talks with traditional and new players in the automotive industry to examine potentials for collaborations," a Mercedes-Benz representative told Business Insider at the time.
Mercedes-Benz will release an electric SUV, the EQC, in the US in 2020 and follow the vehicle with an electric sedan. The automaker has said it plans to invest $11 billion in electric vehicles by 2022.
See Also:
- Elon Musk doubled down on his goal to make a Tesla that’s less expensive than the Model 3
- A Tesla driver appears to be sleeping on the highway in a Twitter video
- Tesla will unveil the Model Y this month — here’s everything we know about the vehicle so far
SEE ALSO: Elon Musk doubled down on his goal to make a Tesla that’s less expensive than the Model 3
Source: Business Insider – mmatousek@businessinsider.com (Mark Matousek)