Press releases touting breakthroughs in clean energy and clean transportation keep the teletype machines at CleanTechnica global headquarters clattering away 24 hours a day. Recently, we received word of two new electric cars — one from BMW and one from Mercedes — that are designed specifically to meet the needs of families who have children that need to be taken hither and yon, usually with a full complement of stuff and a few friends.
What struck us most about the two stories was how similar the vehicles look, which is no coincidence, given that they are both designed to be primarily commodious and efficient people movers. This is not a market segment that puts a premium on low slung roof lines for aero efficiency. Instead, it focuses on getting a bunch of people, along with car seats, back packs, and perhaps a dog, in and out as easily as possible.
See what we mean about looking similar? Sure, the Mercedes is a bit more upright in the back, but in profile, it would be hard to tell one from the other on a dark night.
BMW iX3 Nearly Sold Out
According to BMW Blog, the battery-powered iX3 — the first of a range of Neue Klasse electric vehicles — is outselling the gasoline-engine powered X3 in Germany. It’s possible the conventional version is an older design and buyers always prefer the latest new thing, but for those who are laughing up their sleeves about how the EV revolution is over, the sales figures suggest otherwise. Recently, Massimiliano Di Silvestre, the head of BMW Italy, told the press, “Our order backlog has far exceeded our expectations. If we consider Europe alone, I can tell you that orders cover almost all of our 2026 production.”
The top-of-the-line iX3 comes with a 109 kWh NMC battery and dual motors. It retails in Germany for €69,000, and that version will be the first to arrive early next year. Later, a less expensive version with a smaller battery and single motor driving the rear wheel will arrive, priced at around €60,000. Both cars can charge at up to 400 kW of power for charging times of around 22 minutes. Range with the larger battery is said to be around 400 miles, but whether that is WLTP or EPA is not clear.
At first, the car will be produced at the company’s factory in Debrecen, Hungary, which has an annual capacity of 150,000 cars. Later, a long wheelbase version will start production at the Shenyang plant in China. In 2027, the standard wheelbase model will go into production at the San Luis Potosí factory in Mexico, although political considerations and tariffs may effect the decision to build the car in North America.
Mercedes GLB
Earlier this year, Mercedes introduced the third-generation CLA sedan, this one based on its MMA platform that features 800 volt architecture. It also is able to incorporate a hybrid powertrain, as Mercedes wants to be able to keep its options open as political considerations roil the world of electric vehicles. As slinky as the CLA is, it is not the family hauler many customers want.
The answer is the GLB, a spacious SUV style vehicle that uses the same platform and offers three-row seating as an option. Access to the third row is made easier by increasing the size of the opening of the rear doors, but Mercedes still says passengers taller than 5’5” will find things pretty cramped back there. Passengers in the middle row now have almost 3 inches more legroom.
When the EV revolution was just getting started, manufacturers wanted to distinguish their battery-powered vehicles from conventional cars via different branding. All Volkswagen EVs carried the ID brand. Mercedes adopted the EQ label. But manufacturers have discovered there is a lot of valuable brand equity attached to those original labels, and so the trend now is to use those well known labels and de-emphasize the electric car branding. That’s why this latest model from Mercedes is called the GLB with EQ technology instead of the EQB.
Mercedes chief designer Gorden Wagener says, “The all-new GLB embodies our philosophy of Sensual Purity in a particularly powerful way. It expands our Entry Luxury portfolio and ushers the iconic Mercedes-Benz design into a new era. With its sculptural proportions, emotional light signature, and modern architectural interior, it is an SUV with character, sensuality, and soul.” That might be gilding the lily a bit, Gorden.
Aerodynamics play a critical role in how far an electric car can travel on a single charge. The CLA and the GLB share the same powertrain, but the sedan has a claimed range of 781 km (473 mi) WLTP while the taller, boxier SUV with a single rear motor only manages 631 km (392 mi). The dual motor version is a few km less at 614 km.
The reason there is such a small difference is because the 80 kW front motor automatically decouples under most driving conditions, meaning the car operates in rear-wheel-drive mode most of the time. Like the CLA, the rear drive unit for the GLB features a built-in two-speed transmission.
Mercedes says, “First gear enables excellent acceleration from a standing start, a high towing capacity, and plenty of efficiency in city traffic. Second gear is designed for power delivery at high speeds and for high efficiency on the motorway. It ensures excellent range and comfort on long journeys.” Towing capacity for the new GLB is 2 tons, a slight increase over the EQB. Prices in the US when (if?) the car arrives next year are expected to start at around $60,000.
The interior is, as one would expect from Mercedes, sumptuous, with screens that span nearly the entire dashboard. But what may be more important to passengers, especially in winter, is a newly designed heat pump that incorporates lessons learned from the company’s Vision EQXX concept car that put the emphasis on efficiency. The new system is said to begin operating as soon as someone enters the vehicle and is capable of warming the interior twice as fast as the prior system. Using less energy for heating leaves more energy available for moving the car forward.
Customers Rule
Both the BMW iX3 and the Mercedes GLB with EQ technology (what a clunky name!) are targeted at the sweet spot of the new car market — practical cars designed for transporting 5 or more people in style and comfort. Both feature fast charging speeds and decent range with plenty of cargo space and both are priced competitive at a time when the average price of a new car is now over $50,000 in the US.
Revolutions do not move in straight lines. They move in fits and starts and sometimes they even go backwards temporarily. Both new offerings from BMW and Mercedes are compelling electric cars that will encourage more people to ditch their plans to buy another gasmobile and make the move to battery power instead. These are the kinds of cars that will see to it that the EV revolution keeps moving forward, not because of lower emissions, but because they are damn good cars that people want to drive. Maybe there is hope for the EV revolution yet.
