SPY PICS: 2025 Mercedes-Benz EQC steps out

The first-generation Mercedes-Benz EQC has come to the end of its product lifecycle in Australia, where the pioneering mid-size luxury electric SUV has been discontinued more than a year out from the launch of its successor, the first prototype of which has just been spotted testing in Germany.

Earmarked for European release sometime in 2025, the second-generation Mercedes-Benz EQC will have big shoes to fill given its GLC-based predecessor kickstarted the German car-maker’s EQ-badged battery-electric model line-up in late 2019.

Rather than the new-generation Mercedes-Benz GLC that’s just been released Down Under, the next EQC will be underpinned by Merc’s bespoke MB.EA electric vehicle architecture and will be the final member of the brand’s electric SUV family, joining the EQA, EQB, EQE and EQS SUVs.

The first new-gen EQC was spotted last week leaving the brand’s Stuttgart research and development centre, with an unbadged GLC in tow, revealing what looks to be a sleeker profile headlined by a noticeably lower bonnet and nose.

This should do wonders for the EQC’s drag coefficient and in turn its driving range, which is also set to be boosted by the latest-generation battery technology derived from that of the bigger EQE and EQS SUVs, albeit in a smaller-capacity package.

Odds are the MkII EQC will retain a circa-80kWh battery pack but enjoy a range extension of around 100km – to at least 450km WLTP – by the time the improved technology, more streamlined profile and inevitably more efficient motors are all factored in.

Beyond the lower front-end it’s hard to ascertain much about the new model’s exterior design, but chances are it will look like a scaled-down version of the high-riding EQE and EQS models but with a slimmer front fascia and narrower headlights, at the very least.

Whatever it looks like, the next EQC will face some stiff competition from the likely updated (by then) Tesla Model Y, Genesis GV60, Lexus RZ, Polestar 4 and possibly even the Porsche Macan EV, depending on how it’s positioned.

With just over 1000 sold in Australia since late 2019, the original EQC proved relatively popular compared to similar EVs including the Audi e-tron, Jaguar I-PACE and the much newer BMW iX3 – despite pricing of around $140,000, which was lowered to under $125K via a new entry variant in 2021.

But the Model Y has been a runaway success since it arrived Down Under in mid-2022 – in part because the sub-$70K base variant is half the price of the EQC – with over 17,000 sold to July this year alone, eclipsing the Model 3 as Australia’s best-selling EV, outselling the Toyota RAV4 to become the country's most popular medium SUV and falling just 99 units short of being the nation’s favourite SUV, period.