An electric Mercedes-Benz C-Class will arrive in less than 12 months and be positioned as a more upmarket proposition than today’s combustion offering. We expect an estate model to follow soon after.
The siblings are based on the new MB.EA platform and will be placed in what Mercedes calls the ‘core luxury’ segment, currently occupied by the likes of the CLE and E-Class.
Meanwhile, the brand’s range of ‘entry-level’ cars will be shrunk to comprise the CLA, GLA and GLB, with these three models moving to the new MMA platform.
Speaking on the brand’s earnings call earlier this month, Källenius confirmed the new CLA will arrive first in 2025, having been previewed by a concept at last year’s Munich motor show.
Mercedes will raise the prices of these entry-level models “significantly” as it aims to improve their profitability.
It will also look to grow the share of its ‘top-end’ luxury cars, such as AMG performance models and the G-Class, by 60%. Källenius added that the planned MB.EA architecture will no longer replace the EVA2 platform used for the EQS and EQE, suggesting the mooted ‘large’ variant of the new MB.EA has been scrapped.
Despite its growing presence in the EV market, Mercedes remains committed to offering combustion-engined cars.
For the first half of 2024, it has reported a 25% slump in EV sales year on year, from 61,211 to 45,843. Meanwhile, it sold 27% more plug-in hybrids, making 44,120 deliveries.
“We have to realise that the speed of the transition – it’s almost impossible to foresee how long it will take,” said Källenius. “We are one of those few companies that are well positioned to play the flexibility card until the 2030s.”
