Daimler on Thursday (April 15) unveiled the electric "sibling" of its flagship Mercedes-Benz S-Class luxury sedan.

Squaring up to EV leader Tesla in the battle for market share of electric car sales.

The EQS is the first in a family of Mercedes-Benz cars built on a dedicated electric vehicle platform built from the ground up.

It will go on sale in Europe and the United States in August, then in China in January.

Daimler has not revealed pricing yet for the EQS, saying that will come in the summer closer to the launch date.

With a range of up to 770 kilometers, or 478 miles analysts see an effort to seize the initiative from Tesla.

It comes as Daimler's first-quarter operating profit surged thanks to higher vehicle prices and strong demand in China powering its recovery.

Quarterly adjusted group earnings jumped to $6 billion in the first three months of the year.

Up from $861 million dollars a year earlier.

That was above average analyst expectations, prompting it to release key figures on Friday (April 16), a week ahead of schedule.

Volkswagen a day earlier had also singled out China as one of the drivers of a global automotive recovery.

Its Porsche luxury cars business reported a 36% rise in sales in the first three months of the year.

Adding to the positive tone, European car registrations for March bounced back from a year ago when lockdowns and uncertainty across Europe took a toll on sales.