The electric Mercedes-Benz C-Class has been spied ahead of its expected unveiling later this year as a rival to the upcoming BMW i3, with a claimed range of up to 800km.
The C-Class electric vehicle (EV) will be officially named ‘C-Class with EQ Technology’, following the naming strategy used for the electric GLC with EQ Technology SUV revealed at the Munich motor show in 2025.
Set to enter production during the second quarter (April to June) of 2026, the electric sedan will share its 800-volt MB.EA electric underpinnings with the BMW iX3-rivalling GLC EV.
Like the electric SUV, it shares little with its combustion-powered counterpart.
The latest images show the C-Class EQ’s ‘iconic grille’, seen in a teaser image issued by the automaker in September last year, remains despite the resignation of longstanding design boss Gorden Wagener.
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Mr Wagener’s successor – Bastian Baudy, who comes from Mercedes-AMG – is “setting the course for the next era of its design language,” according to the automaker, with the C-Class EQ now too close to its final production guise for any significant design changes.
The automaker has said its previous EVs were too polarising in their design, with the C-Class EQ moving away from the swoopy EQS and EQE body shapes and instead adopting something closer to a conventional ‘three-box’ sedan silhouette.
The ‘iconic grille’ harkens back to previous, more formal grilles from Mercedes-Benz and contrasts with the rounded body shape of the C-Class EQ.
Like the GLC EV’s grille, it can be illuminated, however it features four horizontal slats, where the GLC has only three.
As seen in previous spy shots – including of the vehicle testing at the Nürburgring in Germany – the C-pillar behind the rear doors remains heavily camouflaged, suggesting an additional quarter window may be fitted.
Inside, higher-grade versions of the C-Class EQ are expected to feature the 39.1-inch ‘MBUX Hyperscreen’, which stretches across the full width of the dashboard, as seen on the GLC EQ and the new-generation CLA.
Aside from its claimed 800km range, full powertrain details for the C-Class EQ are yet to be revealed, though the GLC EQ provides an indication of what will be offered beneath the skin.
The top-spec GLC 400 4Matic EQ features a 360kW dual-motor all-wheel-drive system, including a two-speed gearbox for the rear axle and a 94kWh nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery with a claimed 713km WLTP range.
Lower-spec versions run a smaller lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery and a single-motor rear-wheel-drive setup.
The MB.EA platform’s 800-volt architecture supports DC fast charging at rates of up to 330kW.
The C-Class EQ will compete with the upcoming BMW i3 electric sedan – sharing its ‘Neue Klasse’ underpinnings with the iX3 – with both claiming up to 800km of driving range.
The BMW lineup will also include an electric, quad-motor M performance model due in 2027, while Mercedes-AMG is preparing electric models of its own.