The EQA and the EQB do not sit on a dedicated electric platform. The German technical press states explicitly that the EQA is built on the GLA platform, which is not an electric car platform. The EQB comes from the GLB in the same way.
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This is not a fault but a design constraint, and it has consequences a used buyer can measure in money, which is exactly why it belongs here:
- The battery went under the floor of a combustion car, not into the floor. So the boot and the cabin are smaller than in similarly sized rivals on dedicated platforms.
- Against the 66.5 kWh net pack the range is more modest than on a dedicated platform car with the same capacity: the body was not designed for this.
- The low mounted battery housing is more vulnerable: kerbs, deep potholes and frozen snow hit it from below. Repairing a damaged HV battery housing is not body work.
What this does not mean: that the EQA/EQB is a worse car. Its battery is actively thermally managed, and the Mercedes battery warranty applies to it. A buyer simply has to know what they are buying, and to look under the car.
What to check
- Lift the car or crouch underneath: look for scrapes, dents and impact marks on the lower cover of the HV battery housing
- Ask whether it ever took a hit from below (kerb, pothole, speed bump), and if so, whether the housing was inspected
- Ask the franchised dealer for a battery state of health (SoH) measurement in writing