The new EQS will not replace the S-Class, as previously expected: both Mercedes-Benz flagships — electric and hydrocarbon — will continue coexist for many years to come.
Mercedes-Benz is well aware that they went too far with their flagship electric liftback EQS: its design turned out to be too extreme for the brand’s traditional customers, and innovation lovers scold it — they say, we , of course, we love experiments and all that, but in this case it didn’t work out very well.
Current Mercedes-Benz EQS generation V297 1/3 
Current Mercedes-Benz EQS generation V297 2/3 
Current Mercedes-Benz EQS generation V297 3/3
The EQS is selling much worse than Mercedes-Benz market analysts expected: for example, in the US last year it sold 6,688 units, which is 11% less than sales in 2022 (data from the manufacturer). In Europe, sales of EQS last year dropped by 46% to 3,708 units. (data from JATO Dynamics). Of course, the global slowdown in demand for electric vehicles has had an impact, but for the Mercedes-Benz EQS this is far from the only problem: it is criticized for its eccentric fish-shaped design, uncomfortable touch ergonomics (it was on this model that the giant MBUX Hyperscreen display debuted) and a completely prohibitive drop in price. in the secondary market — it’s almost impossible to get rid of an EQS you don’t like for reasonable money. However, low liquidity is a problem for many premium electric vehicles.
The cooling of the electric vehicle market has already had an impact on the official plans of Mercedes-Benz — we talked about this in February, and here we’ll talk about unofficial plans that the American magazine Car and Driver recently published with reference to insiders. Let us remind you that according to the new official introductions, Mercedes-Benz is not yet going to completely switch to electric vehicles and has even returned to developing “hydrocarbon” models.
In turn, Car and Driver sources report that the pessimization of Mercedes-Benz's electric vehicle plans was also reflected in its flagship models: it was previously assumed that in 2028 the current EQS and S-Class would be replaced by one new all-electric flagship. Now the decision has been made to further develop both models in parallel. More precisely: the second generation EQS will debut in 2028, and the current S-class (factory index W/V/Z223) will continue to be produced until 2032 inclusive; before this date, two updates are expected — in 2026 and 2029. By the way, Audi also decided to extend the life cycle of its “hydrocarbon” flagship sedan A8.
The current Mercedes-Benz EQS of the V297 generation will undergo restyling this year and will receive a more capacious battery of 118 kWh (currently 108 kWh), and next year the EQS will move from 400-volt to 800-volt electrical architecture and will receive electric motors Mercedes-Benz's own production instead of the current ones from Valeo. New electric motors in combination with a more capacious battery should significantly increase the EQS's range on a single charge, although it is still decent: from 529 to 717 km on the WLTP cycle, depending on the modification.
During Mercedes-Benz restylings will return to the current EQS and S-class some of the previously lost physical buttons in the cabin and will try to provide a comfortable and safe balance for the user, as will soon be required by Euro NCAP.
The next generation of EQS with the factory index V580 will be based on the promising modular platform MB.EA, the first carrier of which will be the electric crossover Mercedes-Benz GLC — it is expected in 2026, while the new EQS — in 2028. The new EQS will have much more traditional proportions, you can expect a monumental, vertically oriented design from it, made with an eye on classic Mercedes — in general, it sounds interesting, but time will tell what will happen in reality.