Mercedes Heading to Paris with an Electric SUV

Mercedes-AMG GLC 43 (Credit: Mercedes)

Automakers are lining up en mass to take a crack at the EV titleholder, Tesla. Today, Autocar has revealed that even Mercedes has its sights set on the dominant force in the EV world, and it will reveal its conceptual ammunition at the Paris Auto Show in September.

The vehicle in question is a full-electric concept SUV that’s aimed squarely at the closed grill of the Tesla Model X. What’s impressive about this report is the fact that Mercedes won’t take the easy route to tackle Tesla by just slapping an electric powertrain in a GLK and call it a “competitor.” Instead, Mercedes is planning on crafting an all-new vehicle to take on the falcon-winged wonder, which would make it the first-ever dedicated EV for the German automaker.

While we will only see the concept version in Paris, Autocar is reporting that the production version could arrive as early as 2019. In addition to an EV, the platform that Mercedes will craft for this new SUV will be shared with the forthcoming hydrogen-fueled GLC.

Sadly, there are no details on what this new SUV will look like, but reports indicate that the concept will give us a good idea of its size, styling direction, and interior setup. Sure, it’ll be a tad stylized for impact, but we’ll at least get a better idea of what to expect.

The Paris Auto Show kicks off on September 29th for media folk, so we should have an update around that time, at the latest. Stay tuned for more info.