Mercedes-BenzEQC

Mercedes-Benz EQC etymology: What does its name mean, letters stand for?

The Mercedes-Benz EQC is the company’s first mainstream, high volume electric vehicle. But what does its name mean, and what are the letters EQC short for?


According to Meredes-Benz, EQ stands for “Electric Intelligence”, and it’s a clear play on IQ, which is short for Intelligence Quotient.

We’re guessing EV, an initialism of electric vehicle, can’t be easily trademarked as it’s pretty generic.

The C component of the name means that it’s roughly the same size as its other “C” cars, including C-Class range and GLC crossovers. Indeed, because Mercedes is basing its EVs on existing models and architectures, the EQC is directly related to the GLC, although it has its own unique body and interior.

It will be interesting to see what Daimler decides to do name-wise if it decides it needs an fully electric version of its C-Class sedan.

Through leaks, reports and concept cars, Mercedes-Benz is preparing an electric model for each of its main class sizes, so there will be an EQA hatchback in the not-too-distant future, and EQS flagship too.