The Mercedes EQE SUV takes on the BMW iX

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PARIS — Mercedes-Benz continues to expand its fully electric vehicle portfolio with the EQE SUV crossover, which will take on the BMW iX, which is already among the top five best sellers in the large premium SUV segment in Europe.

Mercedes unveiled the EQE SUV on Sunday in Paris, but the EV won’t be on display this week at the Paris Auto Show.

The EQE SUV will feature a 90 kilowatt hour battery with a maximum range of 590 km (316 miles) on the WLTP scale. The power output is 215 or 300 kilowatts. By comparison, the range of the more aerodynamic EQE sedan version is up to 640 km.

Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kallenius said the EQE SUV would give the brand the “most comprehensive” electric vehicle lineup of any automaker.

“Our clients move fast and we move with them,” he said in Paris on Sunday.

Kallenius said global sales of Mercedes’ all-electric cars rose 115 percent in the third quarter compared to the same period last year.

Mercedes describes the EQE SUV as “more dynamic” than the larger EQS SUV, and there are key differences even with the EQE sedan. The SUV version is 4,863mm long, 77mm shorter than the sedan, and its 3,030mm wheelbase is 90mm shorter, which Mercedes says makes it feel especially nimble.

Optional suspension upgrades include air suspension that can add 30mm of ground clearance and rear-wheel steering with a maximum angle of 10 degrees, reducing the turning radius from 12.3 to 10.5 meters.

The EQE SUV will initially be available with rear-wheel drive only, but later 4Matic versions will have an electric motor driving the front wheels, automatically disengaging when not needed to increase range.

Model designations are 350+ for the base rear-wheel drive model with 215 kW, 350 4Matic with AWD and 215 kW, and 500 4Matic with AWD and 300 kW.

There will be two AMG performance versions available, both with all-wheel drive. The AMG EQE 43 has 350 kW of power and accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.3 seconds. The AMG EQE 53, with 505 kW, reduces that time to 3.5 seconds.

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