Mercedes-Benz Is Killing Its 'EQ' Badge
When C&D received an invite to an event for the 2025 G580 With EQ Technology, we wondered when we'd get to see the electric one—you know, the EQG. Well, it turns out there is no EQG, because the aforementioned mouthful of G-wagen nomenclature is, in fact, the electric G-class. We figured it might be a hybrid, given the gas-engine G580 prefix paired with the not-totally-committed "with EQ Technology," but it turns out this will be the naming convention for all electric Benzes from here on out. EQS and EQE, we barely knew ye—but we'll have time to get a little bit more familiar, since the existing models will be allowed to live out their product cycles with the current names. As for the plug-in hybrid cars, Benz tells us that the lowercase "e" will continue on some models, like the 2025 S580e, but won't appear on AMG models—the PHEV AMG GT four-door is called the GT 63 S E Performance. Are you taking notes?
While the new names are, well, long, they do at least make some kind of sense in the historic context of Mercedes-Benz badge methodology. The formula, for decades, was basically one letter to denote class paired with a number to reference engine displacement (and thus power and prestige). This wasn't always quite literal—the 1980s 560SL, for instance, used a 5547-cc V-8 and so should really have been called the 550SL, and all the naturally aspirated "63"-badged AMG cars used a 6.2-liter V-8, not a 6.3. But, close enough.
Benz's embrace of turbocharging in the early 2000s scrambled this formula. The company quite sensibly realized that forced induction ruined the logic of displacement-based badges, since customers simply figure that the bigger the number, the better the car. We recall that when Mercedes stuffed its turbocharged 6.0-liter AMG V-12 into the G-class, a company rep commented, "The only reason we make a G65 is because we don't make a G75."
So even though the G580 with EQ Technology doesn't literally use a 5.8-liter engine—or any internal-combustion engine at all—we understand what the badge is getting at. This is your basic burly G-wagen but not the truly bonkers AMG version that'll surely arrive later. And this naming convention heads off the problem that will eventually arrive when the entire lineup is electric. Whenever that day comes, Benz can simply drop "with EQ Technology" and revert to its traditional badging rather than be stuck with names like "EQS SUV."
Of course, maybe "with EQ Technology" will become so beloved that they'll keep it, as BMW did with the lowercase "i" on its badges even though fuel injection was a given decades ago.
But probably not.
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