GLA-Class SUV

Segment
SUV

Not everyone may have been aware but Mercedes-Benz has been selling an EV since 2013. An EV from Mercedes? Sounds interesting, right? Of course, but Mercedes only sold 3,651 examples of its B-Class Electric Drive since it first hit the US market and now, according to Automotive News, it's on its way out. To be fair, the B-Class Electric Drive was initially only in US states that had a zero-emissions vehicle mandate, although the number of states was later expanded.

A Mercedes spokesman confirmed to the news outlet that 2017 will be the final year for the B-Class Electric Drive, but this doesn't at all mean the German automaker is giving up on EVs entirely. Quite the opposite. The B-Class's death allows Mercedes to focus on future EVs. Parent company Daimler previously stated that it plans to spend more than $11 billion in order to bring to market at least 10 new EVs by 2022. By 2025, Daimler hopes its EV lineup will consist of 25 percent of its global sales. As for the B-Class Electric Drive, we actually sampled one not long ago and were, surprisingly, mighty impressed.

What many didn't know was that its lithium-ion battery pack and electric motor were sourced from Tesla at a time when both companies had a strategic partnership, which has now ended. With its 87-mile range, comfortable seating for five and fantastic Mercedes build quality, we felt the B-Class Electric Drive was one of the best-kept secrets in the EV world. It didn't look Tesla sexy (not even close), but it was a solid vehicle and decent enough EV. It's just no longer competitive anymore.