homas Weber capped off a 30-year career at Daimler AG by unveiling a vehicle that could kick off one of the biggest product upheavals in the company's century-plus history.

A few months before Weber retired, Mercedes-Benz debuted Generation EQ, a long-range electric crossover, at the Paris auto show. A production version named EQC is expected to go on sale in 2019 in some markets and in 2020 in the U.S.

It will be a trailblazer for a new generation of battery-electric vehicles across all model series, including SUVs, sedans and coupes, Weber has said. Mercedes will launch 10 EQ vehicles by the end of 2022, and the company has predicted that electric vehicles could account for 25 percent of global sales by 2025.

Despite Weber's retirement at the end of 2016, many other products and innovations developed on his watch continue to roll out. For instance, Daimler's new 48-volt inline six-cylinder engine debuted this year in the re-engineered Mercedes S-class sedan in markets outside the U.S. That engine launches a wave of 48-volt technology that will eventually be adopted throughout the Mercedes lineup. Weber, 63, remains a Daimler adviser.