There is no need to change the proportions,' Lesnik says. 'It's an SUV and that two-box convention is quite solidly defined for consumers. Tesla Model Y, despite there not being a large engine up front. You need cooling.'īoth brands have also purposely shied away from shrinking the hood and creating a cab forward, steeply raked windshield shape like the The engine, the batteryĬharger, the battery itself. 'When you have a car that can charge up for a long rate at high power – 150 kilowatt hours for up to 80% of the charge – you need to cool all of the technical elements. 'There is a misunderstanding thatĮlectric cars don't need to be cooled. 'But other companies don't have the heritage that we do – they didn't invent the car 130 years ago.'Īudi has a different thinking regarding the inclusion of its traditional (if inverted) single-frame grille. 'Other companies have gone without a grille,' Lesnik says. This is especially valid with respect to their joint decisions to retain a 'grille' up front, despite the lack of the need to cool an engine. The next is a coupe that has a more slippery figure, which you will see soon.'Īll of this may give the indication that both companies are simply designing around their staid, stolid pasts – and that is, in part, true. One is an SUV that appeals to a broader audience. 'So we started with a more slippery car, but we ended up doing two cars. But the sales people told us that it needed to appeal to not only early adopters but to a broad audience as well,' says Andreas Mindt, Audi's head of exterior design. This is mandatory because in an EV you have limited energy, and a better coefficient of drag increases range. 'For an electric vehicle, the design needs to be super aerodynamic. Taking much the same conservative route with its 200 mile-range E-Tron in terms of shape. Though Audi's vehicle will be larger and more expensive when it goes on sale here this summer, starting in the mid-$70,000s, the four-ring brand is But we don't want it to be love it or hate it.' Mercedes should have great stance, broad shoulders, excellent proportions, something you want to touch. 'But we should never do a car that is simply a provocation. 'If someone wants to get in an EV, and make a statement, they deserve to be noticed in some ways,' Lesnik says, describing how this new sub-brand will be differentiated subtly, with new lighting signatures and blue and blacked-out design cues. It is part of the brand's strategy for coaxing customers into SUVs. 'This is one of the great things about electrifying an SUV, you just put a 'It looks like a normal, high-riding SUV,' says Robert Lesnik, head of exterior design for Mercedes-Benz. It will also feature a shape that is eminently familiar. The EQC, will be available in the states in the first quarter of 2020, and whileĮPA certification and pricing have not yet been announced, our sources indicate that it will have a range of over 200 miles and a price that starts in the high $60,000 range. This is all the more important because both brands are producing vehicles that launch new sub-brands (EQ and E-Tron.) Though these vehicles differ slightly in size and price, the brands' approach to designing these vehicles is very similar. It is a very intentional decision based on market considerations the world cannot seem to get enough high-riding, all-wheel drive, hatchbacked cargo haulers.īut it is also a key design decision.

Like most marketing decisions in the automobile industry – where developing a single platform can cost a billion or more dollars and take up to a decade – this is not a coincidence. How Mercedes-Benz and Audi designed their electric SUVs The future looks conventional for these brands – at least for nowĪudi are both stepping into the productionĮlectric vehicle (EV) category in the United States in the next year, and they are both doing so, initially with an SUV – theĢ020 E-Tron, respectively.

Mercedes electric crossover