- The EQE will be a more affordable version of the EQS that’s just been officially presented.

- The EQE will be offered with all-wheel drive with targeted driving range of 600kms.

Here we have spotted Daimler’s answer to the Tesla Model S, the all-new Mercedes-Benz EQE electric sedan, loosely affiliated with the next-generation E-Class range, but arriving a year earlier. We have already caught the new EQE several times but this time we managed to get a closer look at the svelte design of the car codenamed V295.

As expected, the EQE looks a lot like the EQS sedan, especially the headlights and the large windows. The name reflects how Mercedes plans to position its EQ-branded electric cars alongside its conventionally powered models. In many regards, the EQE will be a more affordable version of the EQS that’s just been officially presented. Both will share a new modular electric car architecture dubbed EVA2 by insiders, using the now-traditional skateboard chassis with the heavy battery cells slung low down under the floor.

That EVA2 chassis is said to provide the new EQE with class-leading space; it’s apparently as roomy as an S-Class, despite having a footprint smaller than an E-Class, thanks to the packaging advantages of electric motors. Expect flat floors and generous room for luggage. The EQE and EQS look remarkably similar when wearing their disguise. It has a slightly smaller appearance, not something you might notice if you don’t look at the other changes. The easiest one to spot is the third brake light that on the EQE sits on the bootlid instead of the upper part of the rear window as on the EQS. And while we are at the trunk, on the EQE it is just a regular boot and not a big hatch as on the EQS.

The EQE will be offered with all-wheel drive, the better for taming the instant torque of the electric motors, and a host of semi-autonomous driving aids are a given. Exact battery sizes are yet to be disclosed, but Mercedes engineers are targeting a range of 600 kilometres. We expect to see the new Mercedes-Benz EQE launched in late 2021, with showroom sales due to start in 2022. No word yet on price, but expect it to square up to the Tesla Model S, starting at around 70,000 Euros.

The pace of change at Daimler is hotting up, as it throws itself wholeheartedly into the electric-car scene. Mercedes plans to offer 130 electrified cars by 2030, including EVs, PHEVs and full hybrids.