2026 Mercedes GLE/GLS Facelift

[Dopebouy]

You can't pull a brand new GLE and GLS out of thin air...
This is a failure of strategy, not a lack of funding. They didn't think they'd need to make a new GLE/GLS on a combustion platform, because they thought combustion would be dead. Obviously they were wrong and have now had to pivot aggressively.

But it still takes time to make a new thing. They can't spawn it out of nowhere. Another facelift was probably the only thing they could do on a short term basis.

I wish the next gen GLE/GLS could keep the bounce function, it’s so baller.

 

[McLaren64TR]

Strategic Failure = Losing Money

I have been constantly pointing out Mercedes' revenue and profitability losses over the past 2-3 years. These losses occurred due to Mercedes' strategic failure.

Therefore, I do not agree with the thesis that "these models are not being renewed simply because the strategy was unsuccessful." I have stated this many times. Mercedes has lost billions of euros precisely because of this strategic failure.

The development process of a vehicle takes at least 3 years. The GLE was introduced in 2018, just a few months after the G05 X5. It received a facelift in 2023, around the same time as the X5.

While the X5 is set to receive its new generation within the next few months, the GLE will continue to survive until 2030 with a second major facelift. Similarly, the GLS will keep being sold with its current body until 2030, whereas BMW will introduce the second-generation X7 in less than a year.

I am saying that Mercedes' strategic failure has cost the company billions of euros. If the opposite were true, Mercedes would not be forced to keep these models on the market for such an extended period.

I also don’t understand why Mercedes fanboys refuse to accept this. It is a fact, and the entire automotive industry acknowledges this failure.

 

[Merc1]

Ah yes, Mercedes is giving two of its best-selling models a second facelift despite there being no problems whatsoever, not completely redesigning them in the face of a completely revamped BMW X5, X7, Audi Q7, and a brand-new Audi Q9.

You can keep believing that, but the EQ nonsense sucked Mercedes' budget dry like a black hole, and Mercedes decided to keep these two models on the market for a while longer instead of developing them from scratch.

I also disagree with the theory of a comprehensive and high-budget facelift. This operation was done at a much lower cost than completely redesigning the GLE and GLS.

Totally hosed. Just keep repeating it until it becomes true. Talk about being brain free. They have the money to launch all these other new or revised models but they didn’t have enough money to redesign the GLE and GLS. Are you by chance a MAGA member?



M

 

[leylandi]

Strategic Failure = Losing Money

I have been constantly pointing out Mercedes' revenue and profitability losses over the past 2-3 years. These losses occurred due to Mercedes' strategic failure.

The Mercedes-Benz Group increased its net profit by 34% to €14.8 billion in 2022, thanks to its strong model mix and implementation strategy. Group EBITDA (earnings before interest and taxes) rose by 28% to €20.5 billion, and total revenue increased by 12% to €150 billion.

Mercedes-Benz Group generated total revenue of €153.2 billion in 2023, an increase of 2.1%, while net profit decreased slightly to €14.5 billion (reported between €14.3 and €14.53 billion).

BMW Group reported a successful 2023 with record revenues of €155.5 billion (up 9% year-on-year) and strong operating results, driven by high-end models and electric vehicles. While net profit dropped to €12.2 billion (about a third less than 2022) due to the absence of 2022's one-time Brilliance consolidation gain, the company remains highly profitable.

Mercedes-Benz's net profit for 2024 fell by approximately 28% year-on-year to €10.4 billion, primarily due to declining demand in the Chinese market and rising production costs.

BMW Group's 2024 annual net profit fell by 36.9% to €7.68 billion ($8.32 billion), driven by a challenging market in China and increased warranty costs from a massive brake system recall. Global EBIT decreased by 37.7% to approximately 11.5 billion euros, while revenue dropped 8.4% to €142.38 billion for the year.

Mercedes-Benz announced that due to fierce competition in China, US tariffs, and rising costs, its operating profit will fall by 57% to €5.8 billion in 2025, and net profit will decrease by approximately 49% to €5.3 billion.

BMW reported that in 2025, due to tariffs and declining sales in China, its net profit fell by 3% to €7.45 billion, and its operating profit decreased by 11.5% to €10.2 billion. According to PistonHeads, despite a €2.5 billion cost reduction, revenues fell to €133.5 billion.

Mercedes made more money by selling fewer cars. I think BMW ended up losing more money.

 

[Design FIRST]

The FL GLS looks already dated with those larger headlights, in this age of headlights becoming smaller and slimmer due to advanced LED tech, it uses headlights with even larger headlight housings than my 2016 W213 E-class.

Pre FL GLS:

Perhaps responsible designers perceiving the bulky "old school" headlamp design as being "rugged" and "masculine"-and thus "appropriate" for a large SUV.

Apropos headlamps: By the end of this decade, we should be seeing a far greater frequency of very thin, often full width headlamp bands. At least on EVs. With cell-to-chassis and solid state battery applications, at least vehicles such as sedans, estates, 2 and 4 door GTs will feature significantly sectioned, vertical mass reduced lower car bodies. This will accomodate far thinner headlamp units as well as sleeker front ends in general. Corporate automotive designers will surely warmly welcome this development. The currently frequent "pudge" will have been banished. Of course, whether this will make it's way onto large luxury SUVs remains another issue.

 

[leylandi]

I think he's not reading the numbers correctly. In 2024, BMW experienced a 37% loss while Mercedes lost 28%. Should we conclude from this that the EQ strategy was successful? That would be a hollow conclusion.

 

[Rolf]

Headlight show

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[klugscheisser87]

There is something that really surprises me a lot, but the GLS redesign is growing on me.
I mean I still think the lineup looks like crap, and the GLE follows that desaster.

But… the GLS manages to look so outdated that it even looks accidentaly oldschool in a positive way ( yes, there is a mess with all that 3rd party looking parts glued together on its front).
But overall it brings some nostalgia from the pre-cyborg looking fronts, Cybertrucks edges and uniform growing trends.

The huge headlamps, oldschool grille, bland sheets of metal, give me that 2010 nostalgia and even some 90’s notions… and I like it.

 

[McLaren64TR]

The Mercedes-Benz Group increased its net profit by 34% to €14.8 billion in 2022, thanks to its strong model mix and implementation strategy. Group EBITDA (earnings before interest and taxes) rose by 28% to €20.5 billion, and total revenue increased by 12% to €150 billion.

Mercedes-Benz Group generated total revenue of €153.2 billion in 2023, an increase of 2.1%, while net profit decreased slightly to €14.5 billion (reported between €14.3 and €14.53 billion).

BMW Group reported a successful 2023 with record revenues of €155.5 billion (up 9% year-on-year) and strong operating results, driven by high-end models and electric vehicles. While net profit dropped to €12.2 billion (about a third less than 2022) due to the absence of 2022's one-time Brilliance consolidation gain, the company remains highly profitable.

Mercedes-Benz's net profit for 2024 fell by approximately 28% year-on-year to €10.4 billion, primarily due to declining demand in the Chinese market and rising production costs.

BMW Group's 2024 annual net profit fell by 36.9% to €7.68 billion ($8.32 billion), driven by a challenging market in China and increased warranty costs from a massive brake system recall. Global EBIT decreased by 37.7% to approximately 11.5 billion euros, while revenue dropped 8.4% to €142.38 billion for the year.

Mercedes-Benz announced that due to fierce competition in China, US tariffs, and rising costs, its operating profit will fall by 57% to €5.8 billion in 2025, and net profit will decrease by approximately 49% to €5.3 billion.

BMW reported that in 2025, due to tariffs and declining sales in China, its net profit fell by 3% to €7.45 billion, and its operating profit decreased by 11.5% to €10.2 billion. According to PistonHeads, despite a €2.5 billion cost reduction, revenues fell to €133.5 billion.

Mercedes made more money by selling fewer cars. I think BMW ended up losing more money.

Mercedes announced that its annual net profit is projected to fall back to €5.3 billion in 2025, up from €10.4 billion.

Please also add that Mercedes sells a large number of commercial vehicles. It's not just about cars. Mercedes is a major commercial vehicle manufacturer. Despite this, it has experienced very significant losses in profitability and revenue in recent years.

 

[McLaren64TR]

Totally hosed. Just keep repeating it until it becomes true. Talk about being brain free. They have the money to launch all these other new or revised models but they didn’t have enough money to redesign the GLE and GLS. Are you by chance a MAGA member?



M

You speak in a constantly insulting way.

I am not American. And I hate that despicable man named Trump.

I will not pay attention to you because you are not intelligent enough to speak without insulting, nor do you have the intelligence to express your opinions without resorting to insults.

 

[leylandi]

Mercedes announced that its annual net profit is projected to fall back to €5.3 billion in 2025, up from €10.4 billion.

Please also add that Mercedes sells a large number of commercial vehicles. It's not just about cars. Mercedes is a major commercial vehicle manufacturer. Despite this, it has experienced very significant losses in profitability and revenue in recent years.

The Mercedes-Benz Group consists of Mercedes cars and Mercedes vans. The Sprinter and Vito do not contribute significantly to profitability. Daimler Trucks is now a separate company.
Prior to 2025, it did not experience any significant losses compared to its competitor; in fact, it was clearly making more money.

 

[McLaren64TR]

The Mercedes-Benz Group consists of Mercedes cars and Mercedes vans. The Sprinter and Vito do not contribute significantly to profitability. Daimler Trucks is now a separate company.
Prior to 2025, it did not experience any significant losses compared to its competitor; in fact, it was clearly making more money.

Mercedes-Benz Group AG

Mercedes-Benz Cars (Passenger Car Division):
This is the largest division of the Group. It focuses on the development and production of luxury passenger vehicles. This division includes the following sub-brands:

• Mercedes-Benz: The main brand.
• Mercedes-AMG: The performance and sports car-oriented sub-brand.
• Mercedes-Maybach: The ultra-luxury segment sub-brand.
• Mercedes-EQ: The sub-brand dedicated to fully electric vehicles.

Mercedes-Benz Vans (Light Commercial Vehicles Division):
This division produces light commercial vehicles (such as Sprinter, Vito, etc.) for both commercial and private use.Mercedes-Benz Mobility (Mobility and Financial Services Division):
This division offers services such as vehicle financing, leasing, fleet management, and insurance.

 

[leylandi]

Thank you for elaborating on what I said.

 

[Merc1]

You speak in a constantly insulting way.

I am not American. And I hate that despicable man named Trump.

I will not pay attention to you because you are not intelligent enough to speak without insulting, nor do you have the intelligence to express your opinions without resorting to insults.

No you’re just clueless and your argument lacks basic common sense. How does a company launch all these new models and not have enough money for anything? I mean even a child could see that you’re wrong and talking out your neck. Everyone here is telling you that you’re wrong and then you hopscotch to something else or just repeat.

M

 

[Swissbob]

As far as I remember Mercedes were going to cancel both models and replace with all EV models but their low sales in EV models made them have a tethink and then keep these ICE models longer on the market while simultanously they develop seperate EV GLE/GLS models.

This was confirmed by my dealer, but the dealers and customers thought it’s a bad idea.

BEV can’t replace the ICE on current cars, the infrastructure must be blamed.

 

[Matski]

The Mercedes-Benz Group consists of Mercedes cars and Mercedes vans. The Sprinter and Vito do not contribute significantly to profitability.

According to the last report vans contribute a third of what Passenger vehicles do to EBIT, and are basically twice as profitable. That is not insignificant.

 

[Design FIRST]

Commercial vehicles almost always play a significant role regarding pre-tax earnings/profits for volume manufacturers. The segment is far less susceptible to the often erratic whims of the automotive marketplace-thus providing a more sustainable customer base.

 

[klier]

According to the last report vans contribute a third of what Passenger vehicles do to EBIT, and are basically twice as profitable. That is not insignificant.

Waiting for his AI answer........

 

[Matski]

Commercial vehicles almost always play a significant role regarding pre-tax earnings/profits for volume manufacturers. The segment is far less susceptible to the often erratic whims of the automotive marketplace-thus providing a more sustainable customer base.

The rate of R & D spending in the Van division is also considerably less. 12% of gross profit versus 33% for cars... equates to around ~5bn less... for scale that saving on R & D is more than the Car division made in operating profit.

 

[CrunchSlaughtered]

You're so convinced of whatever fantasy you committed to you can't see the obvious answer. Absolutely no one said "no problems here!" when it comes to the GLE/GLS facelift. As others have pointed out, Mercedes' EV-only strategy for this decade failed and now they're having to produce a next generation ICE GLE/GLS that they didn't originally plan for. It's as simple as that. They still have to develop the next generation models from scratch regardless.

It's a mess that I'm still very surprised Ola has survived. It leaves me wondering if the board must feel some true culpability in what has transpired.

Do you have an idea whether the GLE is still the most profitable car for Mercedes (this was stated at the presentation of the W223 by the already ex chief technical designer)?