SPY PICS: Mercedes-Benz EQ C caught testing

Update, July 31, 2018: Spy pics have emerged of the production Mercedes-Benz EQ C. The photos were snapped in Death Valley, California, as the vehicle underwent testing.

New information available suggests that the EQ C will be available in rear- and all-wheel drive configurations, with a 300kW electric motor driving the rear wheels and an additional electric motor driving the front wheels of the all-wheel drive variants. The front motor is expected to be rated at either 90kW or 150kW for high-performance versions.

It's speculated that all EQ C models will run on a new EV-specific platform named EVA and will feature adaptive suspension, regenerative braking and electronically-controlled torque vectoring. The EVA architecture is understood to be based on the same platform underpinning C-Class and GLC, which fits with the EQ C being built at the same plant in Bremen as the conventional passenger car and SUV.

Mercedes-Benz will unveil the production version of its new EQ C, the company's first battery-electric SUV at the 'me' Convention in Stockholm during the first week of September.

Expected to be around the size of the conventional GLC, the Mercedes EQ C will likely arrive in global markets next year – perhaps a full year or more ahead of close rival, the Tesla Model Y. Production has already been tipped for the EQ C at the Mercedes-Benz factory in Bremen, where the C-Class passenger car and the GLC are already manufactured.

The EQ C will be the first model launched in the Mercedes EQ range, although a small passenger car, the Mercedes EQ A, is set to follow not long after the arrival of the EQ C. An electric vehicle sub-brand, EQ will compete with BMW's iQ brand, Tesla's full range and the upcoming Porsche Taycan.

Mercedes-Benz is yet to announce specifications for the EQ C ahead of its reveal in Stockholm, but the production model will likely retain the performance character of the EQ Concept (pictured) introduced to the public in Paris two years ago. That would mean a sub-five-second 0-100km/h time, a range of around 500km and output of 300kW and 700Nm.

The electric SUV will certainly embrace new materials technology in production, including steel, aluminium and carbon-fibre. According to Mercedes-Benz, the architecture of the EQ C will comprise a scalable EV platform that could underpin sedans and coupes, as well as SUVs.