Mercedes revives EQS in US, adds range, charging upgrades for 2026

Mercedes-Benz is betting a bigger battery and easier charging can restart interest in its flagship electric sedan. The company says the 2026 EQS 450+ now carries an EPA-estimated 390 miles of range, up from earlier versions, and uses a 118-kWh battery as Mercedes tries to repair a luxury EV nameplate that lost momentum in the United States.

The relaunch matters because Mercedes had already pulled back. After customer demand softened for high-end electric vehicles and U.S. incentives disappeared, the company paused its EQ lineup in the market last year, then quietly brought the EQS back in January. Mercedes-Benz USA had already updated the 2025 EQS Sedan with an all-new battery that increased usable capacity to 118 kWh, along with a refreshed front fascia, and it now markets the sedan as the flagship of its electric fleet.

The sales backdrop helps explain the reset. The EQS sedan and SUV were reported to be down 52% in U.S. sales in 2024, a steep drop for a model family that was supposed to sit at the center of Mercedes’ electric transition. Reuters-reported coverage in 2025 said Mercedes temporarily put U.S. order banks for EQ models on hold to align supply with market demand, a sign that the company was not just tweaking a product cycle but rethinking how aggressively it should push luxury EVs in the United States.

Mercedes is also using the EQS to show where its technology is headed next. Mercedes-Benz Group said in 2025 it would launch three electric-only architectures as part of its shift from electric-first to electric-only, a strategy it first signaled in 2021. The company has already road-tested a solid-state battery prototype in an EQS, starting in February 2025 after integrating it into the car at the end of 2024. In a separate demonstration, Mercedes completed a 749-mile drive from Stuttgart to Malmö without a charging stop, and said the test vehicle arrived with 137 km of range remaining.

The 2026 updates are more modest, but they point to the same thesis: range and charging access are now the real battleground. Mercedes-Benz USA says the EQS SUV’s 2026 updates include a NACS DC fast-charging adapter as standard equipment, while the sedan’s range and battery improvements aim to make the case that product upgrades can recover demand after the early EV boom faded. Mercedes’ next major swing, expected for 2027, is said to bring an 800-volt architecture, faster charging, improved battery tech and optional steer-by-wire.