On 10 November 2026 electrive reported that Mercedes‑Benz has stopped allowing customers to individually configure three of its larger electric models — the EQE saloon, the EQE SUV and the EQS SUV — in its online configurators in Germany, France, the UK and the Netherlands. Buyers can still choose from existing stock vehicles, the outlet said, and Mercedes has not issued a formal company statement confirming the change.
What Mercedes changed
Electrive framed the adjustment as a product‑line realignment: the EQS saloon remains the only large model still actively configurable from the EVA‑II platform after a comprehensive April 2026 update that introduced 800‑volt architecture, new electric motors and a larger battery (electrive cited a WLTP figure of up to 926 km for the EQS 450+). The report noted that no comparable technical update is planned for the EQE models and that the future of the EQS SUV is unclear.
AutoSignal and aggregators carried the same reporting and underlined that Mercedes is shifting its EV strategy toward electric versions of conventional model names on the newer MB.EA‑M architecture, with an electric E‑Class set to arrive in the second half of 2027 as the planned successor to the EQE saloon.
Why CEE is affected
The move matters for Central and Eastern Europe because Mercedes has used regional capacity to clear remaining EQ‑family orders: Electrive reported that the Kecskemét plant in Hungary handled remaining EQB/EQA orders when those models left Mercedes’ configurator in earlier rounds, and Kecskemét was referenced as a site slated for retooling toward MMA‑platform production after existing orders are completed. That history makes Hungary—and the CEE supplier base that serves local plants—directly relevant to Mercedes’ portfolio reshuffle.
For local dealers and used‑car flows across CEE, the practical result is an increase in dealer‑stock emphasis and a shorter forward order book for these Mercedes EV lines: Electrive’s reporting that customers are now limited to stock vehicles implies that new‑build lead times for the affected EQ models will fall to zero while inventories are sold.
What this means for the market
The immediate facts are clear: Mercedes’ online configurators removed individual ordering for the EQE saloon, EQE SUV and EQS SUV on 10 November 2026, and the EQS saloon remains the only large EVA‑II model after a major April 2026 update.
For CEE industry participants, the likely near‑term consequences are threefold: dealers will prioritise selling produced stock over taking new customised orders; factories that completed EQ‑family runs (notably Kecskemét in Hungary) will move from running‑out production to retooling schedules tied to Mercedes’ MMA/MB.EA‑M transition; and suppliers serving EVA‑II‑specific modules may see demand shift or concentrate on remaining EQS saloon volumes while Mercedes transitions architecture and nameplates. These effects stem from the change reported by electrive and summarised by AutoSignal.
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Sources: Electrive, AutoSignal
