BERLIN: Mercedes-Benz is set to drop the EQ product brand for battery-electric cars as soon as the next generation of compact cars, set to be on the market from the end of 2024, German daily Handelsblatt said on Thursday, citing company sources.

The decision is based on Chief Executive Ola Kaellenius’ focus on electric-only cars, making the EQ brand redundant as Mercedes turns away from the combustion engine, Handelsblatt cited the sources as saying.

The German carmaker now markets its all-electric model series under the EQ brand, first announced in 2016, with its first model, the EQC electric SUV, launched in 2019.

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A spokesperson for Mercedes’ EQ products said the brand is an important pillar in the carmaker’s electromobility strategy.

“With the goal of our parent brand Mercedes-Benz becoming fully electric by the end of the decade, we will adapt the positioning of the vehicles and thus also the use of the brand in line with the times, but it is too early for details on this at the moment,” said the spokesperson.