Mercedes will drop “EQ” branding from EV names in 2024
Mercedes is going to drop the “EQ” branding from the names of their electric cars as early as 2024, citing confusion from customers, as reported by Handelsblatt.
In recent years, Mercedes has branded its electric offerings and concepts with an “EQ” badge, meant to stand for “electric intelligence” in a riff on the concept of “IQ.”
So far, each of Mercedes’ EVs have included the letters “EQ” in their name.
This seems simple enough, but eventually you end up with alphabet soup. In various regions, Mercedes sells or will soon sell an EQA, EQB, EQC, EQE, EQE SUV, EQS, EQS SUV, EQV, and potentially an EQG and EQT.
Most Mercedes models have stuck with a model designation based on size or body type, but EQ models designate themselves based on electric drive. This could lead customers to think that EQ models have something similar in terms of size or body type, when in fact the EQT and EQA have nothing in common except powertrain.
And Mercedes’ gas vehicles don’t use lettering based on powertrain, so why should the electric models do so? It’s not consistent with the rest of Mercedes’ branding.
Especially given the future of the company. Mercedes has already declared death of the internal combustion engine, and after 2025, every new vehicle architecture it introduces will be electric.
The timeline for retiring the EQ brand meshes with this electric-only timeline. Mercedes says that the first non-EQ electric model they introduce will be their next generation of compact cars, which should be on the market in late 2024.
Electrek’s Take
To me, this is a good and overdue move.
As far as I’m concerned, almost every electric model name out there currently is bad or confusing in some way or another. Either they take the same name as a gas model (Niro, Kona), confuse model names with sub-brand names (Ioniq, e-tron), silo electric vehicles into a sub-brand which could be killed off (BMW i), or have long and ridiculous names which are impossible for the consumer to understand at a glance (2023 BMW X5 xDrive45e Sports Activity Vehicle®).
All of these, I think, are an indication of an automaker not taking electric models seriously in some way or another. Gas models don’t get this treatment (ok, so in BMW’s case they do) – they usually get a regular model name, distinct from other models, treated and advertised as its own program by the automaker. Malibu. Corolla. Integra. Expedition. Tucson.
Why can’t we get more electric models like that? One of few models from an incumbent manufacturer that fits this naming convention is the Porsche Taycan. It’s a real car with a real model name treated as something distinct by the company that makes it. Do more of that.
Mercedes doesn’t really use this sort of designation for any of their vehicles, to be fair. They mostly stick with letters and numbers for their gas models as well. But having an “EQ” sub-brand still inspired some skepticism from me after seeing what BMW did with their “i” sub-brand.
BMW was ahead of the curve with EVs, with the Mini E, ActiveE and BMW i3 all released quite early in the game. But then they just… stopped. Nothing was done with the “i” brand for several years, and internally the whole department was de-emphasized. This even ended up leading to former CEO Harald Kruger’s resignation – rumors were, he came in with electrification as a priority, but executives under him came together and refused to cooperate, and he was unable to overpower them.
So this is the worry about companies siloing their EV development into its own department. If they do this, it’s entirely possible for some misguided executive(s) to push to defund that department, as we saw in BMW, and I worry that that’s possible with other companies as well. Ford was hailed for its “Team Edison” strategy, which works well as long as Jim Farley is here to push electrification, but what if a less-electrifying executive comes to the head? Could Edison be killed off?
So really, to me, the best solution is to just stop trying to get clever with EVs and treat them like you would treat any other model program. Take them seriously. Stop messing around. And it looks like Mercedes is doing this, which is good.
Unfortunately this also means that Mercedes will end up selling some EVs that are EQ-branded while selling some EVs that are not EQ-branded during the transition to this new system, which may lead to even more confusion in the meantime – much like Audi’s transition between using e-tron as a model name for their first electric SUV and their current status using e-tron as a designation for all of their electric models. But in the long term, treating EVs like normal models, like they should have done in the first place (*ahem*), will make things much easier on everyone.
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First Solar just cut the ribbon on a huge new factory in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, and it dwarfs the New Orleans Superdome. The company’s $1.1 billion, fully vertically integrated facility spans 2.4 million square feet, or about 11 times the size of the stadium’s main arena.
The factory began production quietly in July, a few months ahead of schedule, and employs more than 700 people. First Solar expects that number to hit 826 by the end of the year. Once it’s fully online, the site will add 3.5 GW of annual manufacturing capacity. That brings the company’s total US footprint to 14 GW in 2026 and 17.7 GW in 2027, when its newly announced South Carolina plant is anticipated to come online.
The Louisiana plant produces First Solar’s Series 7 modules using US-made materials — glass from Illinois and Ohio, and steel from Mississippi, which is fabricated into backrails in Louisiana.
The new factory leans heavily on AI, from computer vision that spots defects on the line to deep learning tools that help technicians make real‑time adjustments.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry says the investment is already a win for the region, bringing in “hundreds of good-paying jobs and new opportunities for Louisiana workers and businesses.” A new economic impact analysis from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette projects that the factory will boost Iberia Parish’s GDP by 4.4% in its first full year at capacity. The average manufacturing compensation package comes in at around $90,000, more than triple the parish’s per capita income.
First Solar CEO Mark Widmar framed the new facility as a major step for US clean energy manufacturing: “By competitively producing energy technology in America with American materials, while creating American jobs, we’re demonstrating that US reindustrialization isn’t just a thesis, it’s an operating reality.”
This site joins what’s already the largest solar manufacturing and R&D footprint in the Western Hemisphere: three factories in Ohio, one in Alabama, and R&D centers in Ohio and California. Just last week, First Solar announced a new production line in Gaffney, South Carolina, to onshore more Series 6 module work. By the end of 2026, the company expects to directly employ more than 5,500 people across the US.
Read more: First Solar pours $330M into a new South Carolina solar factory
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No, it’s not the new Bolt. GM’s design team previewed a new high-riding “sporty Chevrolet EV” that should be brought to life.
Is Chevy launching a new sporty EV?
This is the all-electric vehicle Chevy should sell in the US. General Motors’ design team released a series of sketches previewing a sporty new Chevy EV.
Although it kinda looks like the new 2027 Chevy Bolt EV as a higher-sitting compact crossover SUV, the design offers a fresh take on what it should have looked like.
The new Bolt is essentially a modernized version of the outgoing EUV model with a similar compact crossover silhouette. Nissan adopted a similar style with the new 2026 LEAF as buyers continue shifting from smaller sedans and hatchbacks to crossovers and SUVs.
Will we see the sporty Chevy EV in real life? It’s not likely. For one, the “exploration sketch” is by GM China Advanced designer Charles Huang.
GM Design posted the sketches on its global social media page, but the caption read “Sporty Chevrolet EV for the China Market.”
It’s too bad. The Bolt could use a sporty sibling like an SS variant. Chevy introduced the Blazer EV SS (check out our review) for the 2026 model year, its fastest “SS” model yet. Packing up to 615 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque, the Chevy Blazer SS can race from 0 to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds when using Wide Open Watts (WOW) mode.
Will the Bolt be next? I wouldn’t get my hopes up. And if GM does bring the sporty Chevy EV to life, it will likely only be sold in China. Like all the fun cars these days.
What do you think of the design? Would you buy one of these in the US? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
While deliveries of the 2027 Bolt are set to begin in early 2026, Chevy is offering some sweet deals on its current EV lineup, including up to $4,000 off in Customer Cash and 0% APR financing for 60 months.
Ready to test drive one? You can use our links below to find Chevy Equinox, Blazer, and Silverado EVs at a dealership near you.
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Podcast: Electricity is the base currency, Tesla Robotaxi crashes, new Porsche Cayenne EV, and more
In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss electricity becoming the base currency, Tesla Robotaxi crashes, the new Porsche Cayenne EV, and more.
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