Mercedes To Stop Production Of Only Mass-Market Electric Car

German carmaker Mercedes-Benz will stop production of its only mass-market electric car later this year. The B-Class Electric Drive MPV will make way for the new EQ electric vehicle sub-brand, which is expected to hit the streets in 2017.

A Mercedes-Benz spokesperson confirmed the news of the B-Class Electric Drive's demise to Automotive News. The spokesperson stated that production would be phased out in the third quarter of 2017.

The Mercedes B-Class Electric Drive was the first fully electric mass-market car from Mercedes and was developed with the help of Tesla. Daimler (the parent company of Mercedes-Benz), had purchased a minor stake in the American electric carmaker in 2010 which it later sold off.

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The 179bhp B-Class powertrain was developed with Tesla's help and it propelled the electric MPV to 100kph from a standstill in under 8 seconds while giving the people carrier a range of 200 kilometres.

The Mercedes B-Class Electric Drive will make for Merc's new EQ electric car sub-brand which was previewed by the Generation-EQ Concept at the 2016 Paris Motor Show.

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The loss of the Mercedes B-Class Electric Drive was something that was expected since Mercedes announced its new EQ sub-brand. The fact that the German carmaker is transitioning from partnering Tesla to rivalling Tesla means that the days ahead for electric vehicles will be some of the most exciting ones for electric car buyers.