Mercedes adds boxy-styled EQB to its EV lineup

Mercedes-Benz has applied the boxy look of its rugged G-Class off-roader to its latest battery-powered car, the EQB.

The compact SUV will offer seating for up to seven people and is targeted at families who want a greener alternative to the GLB combustion engine model on which it's based.

The EQB's driving range is 478 km (260 miles) under Europe's WLTP testing regime, Mercedes owner Daimler said in a statement on Sunday, ahead of the SUV's unveiling at the Shanghai auto show.

"With the all new EQB we have created an iconic electric SUV that takes the heritage of our boxy off-road vehicles and transforms this into the future," Daimler's design chief, Gorden Wagener, said in the statement.

The 4684 mm-long EQB is positioned between the EQA and EQC in Mercedes' expanding range of full-electric vehicles. It will be a rival to models such as the Audi Q4 e-tron and VW ID, which are similar in size but do not have seven-seat versions. The  4920 mm-long VW ID6, which is also debuting at the Shanghai show, has a seven-seat version.

The SUV will have front-wheel and all-wheel drive options and power output of up to 215 kilowatts (288 hp). It has the same 2829-mm (111-inch) wheelbase as the GLB.

The EQB will go on sale in China and Europe this year and in the U.S. next year, Daimler said. It will be built in Beijing for China and Kecskemet, Hungary, for other markets.

Mercedes has not said how much the EQB will cost. German press reports say it will start at just under 50,000 ($59,920) euros when it goes on sale in Europe in the autumn.

Daimler said last month that it is accelerating a shift to electric vehicles and aims to reach a target for plug-in hybrids or all-electric vehicles to make up more than 50 percent of vehicle sales sooner than the 2030 goal it announced last year.

Its flagship electric sedan, the EQS, will go on sale in Europe and the U.S. in August, and in January 2022 in China.