2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS goes into production at Germany’s Factory 56

The upcoming 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS – which is effectively an all-electric alternative to the standard S-Class luxury sedan – has entered production at the brand’s high-tech Factory 56 in Sindelfingen, Germany.

Parent company Daimler claims the €2.1 billion (AU$3.3B) 220,000 square metre site – which began building the S-Class late last year – is "100 per cent carbon neutral," thanks to a large collection of solar panels and 1400kWh energy storage systems.

A spokesperson for the brand in Australia told CarAdvice: "The EQS is a landmark vehicle for Mercedes-Benz ... At this stage production for our market is due to start in the third quarter of this year, with first local arrivals set for the fourth quarter."

In (for now) range-topping EQS 580 4Matic guise, the sedan’s dual motors send 385kW/855Nm to the road. This allows for the benchmark 0-100km/h sprint to be completed in a claimed 4.3 seconds, on the way to a software-limited top speed of 210km/h. An even quicker AMG variant is also expected to follow.

Two lithium-ion battery packs are available, these offering 90kWh and 107.8kWh respectively. The larger of the two permits up to 770 kilometres between charges on the WLTP cycle (when fitted to the single-motor variant of the car), making it the second longest-range electric vehicle on the market (the yet-to-be-launched Tesla Model S Plaid Plus reportedly offers 837km).

The EQS is expected to arrive in Australian showrooms by December 2021. Local pricing will be confirmed closer to the launch date.

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