Mercedes-Benz on Wednesday took the wraps off of its new 2022 EQA 250 crossover, the automaker's latest electric vehicle in its plan to unleash a flood of new EVs in the near future.
The EQA and its big sibling, the EQC, will rival Tesla's Model Y in the crucial and fast-growing compact crossover segment.
The pint-sized crossover's launch comes as Tesla is racing to finish its first European factory to supply the continent with as many as 500,000 vehicles per year.
Europe is one of the most important electric car markets, as consumers in some countries there tend to be more eager to adopt EVs than US buyers, and many countries have lucrative subsidies to entice would-be customers. More than half of all cars sold in Norway in 2020 were battery powered.
The EQA is set to hit European dealerships this spring, while the EQC is destined for the US this year. The EQA is "still being considered for the US market," a Mercedes spokesperson told Insider, though no decision has been made yet.
Both SUVs will join an expanding slate of small electric crossovers set to hit the market in the coming years from brands like Audi, BMW, Volkswagen, and Nissan.
The EQA 250's launch comes as legacy automakers pile into the EV market in an effort to make their offerings more sustainable, comply with tightening emissions restrictions around the globe, and replicate Tesla's success.
The crossover will be just one member of a broad EQ lineup that Mercedes is planning for the coming years. The automaker plans to launch six new EQ models - sedans and SUVs - by 2022.
Learn more about the 2022 EQA 250: