BERLIN (Reuters) - German newspaper Handelsblatt on Thursday cited Mercedes-Benz sources as saying it plans to discontinue the EQ brand of battery-electric car products as soon as the next generation of compact cars is on the market from the end of 2024.

The sources said the decision was based on CEO Ola Kleinius' focus on electric cars only, making the EQ brand redundant as Mercedes moves away from combustion engines.

The German automaker currently markets its all-electric models under the EQ brand, which was first announced in 2016.

An EQ product spokesperson said the brand was an important pillar of the company's electric mobility strategy.

He continued, "But with the goal of our parent brand Mercedes-Benz becoming fully electric by the end of the decade, we will work to adapt the positioning of the vehicles and thus the use of the brand in line with the time stages, but it is too early to provide details in this regard now."