奔驰位于亚拉巴马州Tuscaloosa的工厂将于今年晚些时候开始投产诸如GEL、GLE轿跑车和GLS这类大型SUV。公司为此投资10亿美元扩充生产设备并增加了600个工作岗位准备生产EQ品牌SUV。谈到电动跨界车，奔驰最近召集美国供应商开会为在美国生产下一代SUV做准备，这其中就包括插电混动车型。这些车将于今年晚些时候投产，这不仅包括部分电动化的SUV（比如混动或插电混动车）。虽然奔驰并未透露投产的具体车型，但据猜测是下一代GLE，最近有人拍到了几乎没有伪装的GLE原型车。而对于其插电混动衍生车型，很可能就是老款GLE550e4Matic的替代车型。但奔驰所说的“下一代SUV”绝不会仅只这一款车型。在GLE发布几周或几个月后，更大的GLS也将于明年发布，如果奔驰增加其插电混动版也丝毫不奇怪。

 

New Mercedes Plug-In Hybrid Large SUV Coming Later This Year

Mercedes’ Tuscaloosa plant in Alabama is the place of birth of large SUVs such as the GLE, GLE Coupe, and the GLS where these are produced to cater the world market. The company is investing a total of $1 billion to expand its manufacturing footprint in that area and will hire more than 600 jobs to get ready for the EQ-badged SUVs.

 

Speaking of electrified high-riding models, Mercedes recently organized a meeting with suppliers in the United States to prepare for the next generation of U.S.-built SUVs and one of the new models coming will be a plug-in hybrid. Production of the model in question will kick off later this year and it won’t be the only partially electrified SUV. While the identity of the model has not been disclosed, an educated guess would have to be the next-generation GLE taking into account prototypes have been spotted in the past few days with barely any camouflage. The plug-in hybrid derivative Mercedes is referring to is likely a successor for the outgoing GLE 550e 4Matic, but there’s actually going to be more than just one electrified flavor of what is being described as the “next generation SUV.”

 

Following the GLE’s expected introduction in the weeks or months to come, the bigger GLS is slated to arrive at some point in 2019 and we won’t be too surprised if it will spawn a plug-in hybrid model as well.