Mercedes will use the designation “with EQ technology” rather than naming its EVs with separate “EQ” model names, to focus on treating them more like normal models – in what this author considers an overdue move.

For many years now, Mercedes has added “EQ” to the model name of its electric models, as in the Mercedes EQS, EQE and so on. It’s meant to stand for “electric intelligence,” a play on the concept of “IQ.”

The convention started with Mercedes’ EQ concept cars, first named as such in 2016 (special mention here for the awesome EQA hot hatch concept, which ended up turning into an SUV… sigh).

Since then, Mercedes has carried it over into all of its electric models, treating “EQ” as a separate sub-brand or a model line on its own, to distinguish it from the company’s staid fossil-powered offerings.

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But that has led to some confusion among buyers. With models named EQA, EQB, EQC, EQE, EQE SUV, EQS, EQS SUV, EQV, and EQT, it starts to look like alphabet soup.

Mercedes noticed this confusion and commented on it back in 2023, when it first announced its plan to drop EQ branding from its model names.

Mercedes buyers are used to the convention of naming vehicles with lettering based on body style and numbers based on engine displacement. But for the EV line, all vehicles share the letters “EQ,” which could lead customers to think that there is some similarity between them, and engine displacement doesn’t really make any sense to apply to an EV. So there is room for confusion there.

Instead, Mercedes now says it will follow the convention it established with the release of the electric G-Class, which it officially calls “G580 with EQ technology.” That “with EQ technology” portion will stick and be carried through other Mercedes EVs, like the upcoming electric CLA. Plug-in hybrids will use “with EQ hybrid technology” as their designation.

Mercedes is treating this as somewhat of a compromise between dropping “EQ” entirely and still maintaining continuity with its past electric models. In this way, there is still a way to tell that a model is electric, but they will be treated more like “normal” models within the model range, instead of as a separate sub-brand.

Alongside these changes, Mercedes has also signaled a return to more “traditional” designs for its EVs, such as a fake grille for the 2025 EQS and perhaps less streamlined exterior shapes for upcoming EVs.

Electrek’s Take

It’s a bit of a mouthful, especially on the first available model with such naming, the G580 with EQ Technology – but we expect that people will start calling it “the electric G-Class” or “G-Class EQ” (perhaps a similar treatment to how people use AMG) or thereabouts, and that as other models gain the same designation, they will get the same colloquial treatment until it eventually feels normal. (Although, we still don’t know what the “580” means in that name).

And, I have long thought that automakers should do something like this, and treat electric models as normal models rather than some foreign thing.

We’ve seen a lot of odd naming conventions from automakers as they try to figure out what to call their EVs – like Audi, which originally introduced the E-tron as a singular concept model and later ended up using it as a designation for anything with an electric motor, or BMW, which started a separate “Projekt i” sub-brand in the early days (with actually interesting designs for once), then killed it off, then brought back the “i” to make more conventional-looking vehicles.

My theory is that by treating models as something foreign, something different, you create an internal conflict within the organization, confusion among customers, and all-in-all make the EVs seem less like a “normal” choice that a buyer could make. It almost feels like you’d have to go to a separate dealership, talk to a separate specialist, in order to find an EV. It adds another layer of friction which could push customers away.

But EVs don’t need to be different and weird, especially here in 2025 where just about everyone at this point has seen them, taken rides in them, has a friend who has one, or something of the sort. And if the entire auto industry is going to electrify – which, I think it bears repeating, is happening and is inevitable, no matter who tries to stop it – at some point we need to drop this idea that EVs are “something else” and recognize that they’re just cars.

So, why not call EVs something normal? Every gas car gets its own name – Tucson, Elantra, Camry, Palisade – so why can’t EVs just be normal too? Let’s get more Taycans, more Dolphins, more Leafs.

And, this is one step along the way towards that for Mercedes, and that’s a good thing. Other automakers should consider the same.

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Ram Trucks introduced the 2026 Ramcharger pickup this week, its first range-extender electric vehicle (REEV). CEO Tim Kuniskis claims it’s “the ultimate electric truck” with up to 690 miles of range and can tow up to 14,000 lbs. Meanwhile, Ram continues to put its fully electric pickup, the Ram 1500 REV, on the back burner.

Meet the 2026 Ram 1500 Ramcharger REEV pickup

The 2026 Ram 1500 Ramcharger includes a 3.6 L V-6 engine, a 27-gallon gas tank, and dual electric motors, one on each axle.

Combined with a massive 92 kWh battery, the pickup can drive up to 690 miles, or what Kuniskis calls an “unlimited” range.

Powered solely by electric power, Ram says the pickup has a driving range of around 145 miles. After the battery runs out of juice, the gas engine kicks on to extend its range.

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The Ramcharger is the truck maker’s most powerful pickup right now. Powered by a dual motor powertrain and 400V platform, the REEV pickup packs 647 horsepower and 610 lb-ft of force. In comparison, the 2025 RAM RHO performance truck only has 540 hp and 521 lb-ft of torque.

Ram expects the Ramcharger to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds, just beating the RHO’s 4.6-second time. However, it’s still under the Ford F-150 Lightning at under 4 seconds and not even close to the Tesla Cybertruck’s (Beast) 2.6 seconds mph time.

However, with a towing capacity of up to 14,000 lbs, the Ramcharger beats out the Lightning (10,000 lbs) and Cybertruck (11,000 lbs).

As you can see, the REEV pickup is basically a replica of other Ram models with updated badging. The inside will be loaded with Stellantis’ latest tech and software, including Hands-Free Highway Assist.

Like the Jeep Wagoneer S, the Ramcharger’s interior will include plenty of screens, including a 14.5″ infotainment, a 12.3″ driver display, and a 10.25″ passenger screen.

The 2026 Ramcharger will go on sale later this year. Although prices will be revealed closer to launch, it’s expected to cost around $65,000 to $70,000, but prices could start closer to $80,000.

“With unlimited battery-electric range, the Ram 1500 Ramcharger is the pinnacle of the light-duty pickup truck segment and the ultimate electric truck,” Kuniskis said.

Meanwhile, Ram’s first fully electric pickup, the Ram 1500 REV, is delayed indefinitely. Ram’s electric pickup was expected to arrive by the end of 2024, but the company pulled ahead the REEV model due to “overwhelming” demand. Stellantis said it would launch the REV in 2026, but even that looks like it could be getting pushed back. When, or if we will ever see, the fully electric version remains up in the air. We’ll keep you updated when we hear more.

Source: The Detroit News, Stellantis

Tesla has acquired parts of bankrupted automation engineering firm Manz based in Germany. It will on board about 300 of its employees.

Manz is a “German multinational engineering company active in the fields of automation, laser processesing, metrology, wet chemistry and roll-to-roll processing.”

The company has filed for bankruptcy protection and announced today that it signed an agreement with Tesla Automation, a subsidiary of Tesla, to acquire parts of its assets.

Interestingly, Tesla’s Automation group was first created out of the acquisition of another German engineering firm, Grohmann.

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Manz announced that Tesla will on board about 300 of its employees and take over its operations at its Reutlingen site:

Manz AG’s insolvency administrator and Tesla Automation GmbH, based in Prüm, a subsidiary of the US electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, Inc., Austin (USA), have signed a purchase agreement on 24 February 2025. Tesla Automation, which specializes in the construction of special-purpose machines at its three German locations, intends to operate an additional location in Reutlingen in the future. For this purpose, Tesla Automation will take over more than 300 employees at the Reutlingen site and acquire movable tangible assets. Tesla Automation will also use the Manz company property in Reutlingen. The completion of the transaction is still subject to the approval of the German Federal Cartel Office under merger control law. The insolvency estate will receive the proceeds of the sale. The parties agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

It sounds like those operations were similar to Tesla’s ongoing operations at its automation group, who design and build manufacturing equipment for the automaker.

Lothar Thommes, Managing Director at Tesla Automation, commented on the announcement:

“We are gaining qualified employees with a high level of expertise in high-tech mechanical engineering. The Reutlingen site is an ideal complement to the continued successful implementation of our global automation projects in the Tesla Group. We are very pleased to be realizing future innovations there.”

Tesla is not onboarding all employees from the specific Manz group. About 100 people are expected to lose their jobs.

The two companies didn’t disclose the terms of the deal.