Mercedes-AMG Is Building Its Own Electric SUV

Currently, Mercedes has no fewer than 11 separate SUVs in its range – 13, if you include the inexplicable ‘Coupe’ versions of the GLC and GLE. Soon, there’ll be another, but there’ll be a bit of a difference, because this one’s being developed wholesale by Mercedes-AMG.

If ‘AMG’ still makes you think of tyre-smoking V8 coupes and the notion of a standalone AMG SUV is a bit difficult for you to digest, then we hope you’re sitting down: it’s also going to be electric.

It’s being developed on the new AMG.EA underpinnings, an EV platform specifically designed for high-performance applications, which is also the basis for AMG’s first standalone EV – a low-slung four-door set to replace the current AMG GT 4 Door.

The electric makeup will include compact, power-dense axial-flux motors and a new high-voltage battery designed specifically for performance applications.

While the four-door is due to debut in 2025, Mercedes says testing of the SUV is due to kick off this winter, so a 2026 debut is more likely. That’s about all we have so far beyond the sketch above, showing some beefy haunches and a relatively low-cut roofline.

Mercedes-AMG chairman Michael Schiebe said: “SUVs have been among our most popular models for many years. With the 'Born in Affalterbach' SUV, we are responding to this trend by offering our customers a truly captivating high-performance off-roader based on the AMG.EA platform. Our new high-performance architecture follows a clear philosophy: 'AMG First, EV Second'.”

Despite having these bespoke EVs in the works, AMG isn’t totally done with its bread-and-butter V8s. Following the largely flat reception of the new four-pot hybrid C63, the upcoming CLE 63 coupe is widely expected to make a move back to pure V8 power. That’s despite Schiebe recently saying that AMG customers have traditionally been drawn to the brand for its technology, not its big engines.