Mercedes-Benz announces drastic change to design approach – future EVs will look more like ICE models

During Mercedes-Benz’s ‘Mastering Transformation’ roadmap presentation, CEO Ola Kallenius said the company will change its design approach for future models. At present, the brand’s electric vehicles (EVs) look distinctively different to its internal combustion engine (ICE) models of a similar class, but this will no longer be the case moving forward.

The G-Class and its electric equivalent are proof of this shift, and the upcoming, next-generation CLA will continue this trend. “Our new design language will give our brand even more iconic status. ICE and BEV design will converge,” the company wrote in its presentation.

The idea is not dissimilar to what BMW has been doing for some time, in that a single model will be offered with a variety of powertrains, be it pure ICE, hybrid or EV. In BMW’s camp, the latest 7 Series and its EV stablemate, the i7, are not drastically different in terms of design, and the same also applies to the 5 Series/i5, X1/iX1 and others.

This “U-turn” of sorts will tie in with the brand’s reported decision to stop using ‘EQ’ to name its future EVs (EQA, EQB, EQS) after the first-generation models come to the end of their life cycles. The electric G-Class isn’t called the EQG as previously believed and is instead marketed as the G580 with EQ Technology.

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