All Mercedes-AMG models to get plug-in hybrid option

Mercedes-AMG will offer a high-performance plug-in hybrid powertrain in every model in its line-up, it has been revealed.

The decision to electrify every Mercedes-AMG branded vehicle is said to be part of a €10 billion ($A16b) investment by parent company Daimler to slash its average fleet CO2 emissions, in order to meet strict EU targets set to be introduced next year.

The first full Mercedes-AMG plug-in hybrids scheduled to arrive in 2020 will join the CLS 53 and E 53 mild-hybrids currently offered by the car-maker.

Despite being only recently introduced, according to Mercedes' head of external affairs for emissions Frank Overmeyer, mild-hybrids will only be a stepping stone to full plug-in versions.

“Mild-hybrid is not the strategy of AMG, because the emissions savings are too small.”

Overmeyer hasn't confirmed the specifics of the new plug-in hybrid powertrain that will be used for the high-performance models but it's thought it will be branded EQ Power+ to match the name already used by the Mercedes-AMG F1 team.

Currently the Mercedes-Benz EQ hybrid set-up combines a turbo-petrol engine with a 90kW/440Nm electric motor and a small battery that can provide for a pure-electric range of around 50km.

The next-generation version, due to be launched in 2020, is set to boost the zero-emission motoring to around 100km to help even large cars, like the S-Class limo, navigate built-up urban environments emissions-free.

According to Overmeyer, the AMG EQ Power+ hybrid will share the same building blocks as the non-AMG Mercedes plug-in and the difference will be in the callibration.

“The battery itself and the application, including the electric motor, will be the same, and you can have a significant boost [in performance] that will reduce the range, but the experience will be better,” said Overmeyer.

“Same battery, same drivetrain, different application. In an SUV, it might offer 100km. It might only be 60km or 70km in an AMG.”

Despite the desperate need to slash emissions, Overmeyer stresses that high-performance and AMG will still go hand-in-hand.

Back in May 2018, Mercedes-AMG Tobias Moers confirmed his performance division had already begun work on a plug-in version of the sub-brand's mighty twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 based on the 600kW 2017 Geneva motor show GT sedan concept.

It's thought the flagship V8 plug-in will carry the '73' AMG model name last used on the R129 Mercedes SL 73 AMG made from 1997 to 2001.