Hot! Mercedes-Benz, What's Next?

[J.E]

Looks like it could be a great looking car

Yeah? So what? It's gonna be electric and electric cars are useless.

 

[Merc1]

It needs to make a statement for Mercedes. Exterior, interior, tech, quality, performance. Come on with a breakout product.

M

 

[Design FIRST]

Actually, Ola Källenius and AMG chief Michael Schiebe have been driving AMG.EA prototypes for the past few months. I imagine that we will soon see their impressions published in the automotive media. As the schedule currently stands, we can expect to see the undisguised serial production car sometime during Q3/Q4 this year.

 

[Design FIRST]

I like that stance, the car's front proportions and the huge wheels filling the wheel arches look great.

It isn't that difficult to envision the production cars front end. But the rear end is so heavily cloaked that its appearance in series production form remains a mystery. Will we see something similar to the design of the Vision AMG Concept ? Or will a more conservative route be taken with an appearance similar to that of the R232 SL and its AMG GT coupe sibling ?

 

[leylandi]

Mercedes-Benz USA Q4 2024 Group Sales
Model Line	Q4 2024	Q4 2023	Quarterly %	YTD 2024	YTD 2023	Yearly %
A-CLASS	0	7	-	3	81	-**
C-CLASS	8,333	10,442	-20%	35,590	35,176	1%
E-CLASS	6,165	3,856	60%	17,638	17,782	-1%
S-CLASS	2,963	3,637	-19%	8,809	11,824	-25%
G-CLASS	3,868	2,267	71%	10,987	9,850	12%
CLA	2,054	2,676	-23%	10,366	10,581	-2%
CLE	4,296	0	-	14,333	0	-
CLS	0	234	-	37	1,459	-**
GLA	5,630	649	767%	19,079	11,587	65%
GLB	2,709	2,958	-8%	14,859	16,521	-10%
GLC	17,756	12,006	48%	64,163	40,699	58%
GLE	21,778	19,523	12%	67,928	62,606	9%
GLS	7,422	8,811	-16%	28,129	26,657	6%
SL	523	288	82%	1,608	3,632	-56%
GT	999	211	373%	3,491	1,976	77%
EQB	2,124	6,043	-65%	8,885	13,979	-36%
EQE	972	5,754	-83%	11,660	19,104	-39%
EQS	667	1,985	-66%	6,963	14,499	-52%
Passenger Car Total	88,259	81,347	8%	324,528	298,013	9%

 

[Centurion]

Wow. The US loves big SUVs. I had no idea that the GLE outsells the GLC there. GLS numbers are strong too.

 

[MAJESTIC]

GLE and GLC are holding it down for Mercedes at the moment. Not shocked about the EQ/SL duds, but definitely surprised the G-Class sold more than the CLA. Mercedes needs to go back to being aspirational and desirable luxury cars. The G shows that they still have the pull.

 

[AbsoluteUnit]

Wow. The US loves big SUVs. I had no idea that the GLE outsells the GLC there. GLS numbers are strong too.

The GLE is a good-looking and very competent SUV, with good powertrain options for the US market.

 

[Merc1]

I’m shocked at how many CLEs they’re moving. There are people who clearly still want a 2-door.

M

 

[Merc1]

GLE and GLC are holding it down for Mercedes at the moment. Not shocked about the EQ/SL duds, but definitely surprised the G-Class sold more than the CLA. Mercedes needs to go back to being aspirational and desirable luxury cars. The G shows that they still have the pull.

And like I always say once they lose this pull, it’s over. You’re exactly right.

M

 

[Centurion]

GLC are holding it down for Mercedes at the moment

The GLC, X3 and Q5 have been the bread and butter for many years now. They have displaced the 3, C and A4. At one point, the Q5 accounted for 25% of Audi's global sales.

 

[Design FIRST]

The currently dedicated electric SMART brand reconsidering its "exclusively BEV" strategy ? This SMART #5 prototype appears to indicate just that.
Indeed, the until recently very high expectations for a significant breakthrough in global BEV sales leading to dominance have been disappointed. An increasing number of manufacturers seem to be desperately backtracking and expanding their model ranges with PHEVs/EREVS.

 

[klier]

GLE and GLC are holding it down for Mercedes at the moment. Not shocked about the EQ/SL duds, but definitely surprised the G-Class sold more than the CLA. Mercedes needs to go back to being aspirational and desirable luxury cars. The G shows that they still have the pull.

G shows the pull, but the SL shows there is none. What to make of it?

Personally I think it's the G (and S class). They don't even have to bother with more expensive/luxurious, as there definitely is no "pull" there left anymore after downgrading the brand for decades..
And besides, after the G and S come the real luxury brands and real supercar brands with their line-up, and the choice becomes easy then.

Yeah? So what? It's gonna be electric and electric cars are useless.

You're such a tiresome broken record.

 

[Merc1]

G shows the pull, but the SL shows there is none. What to make of it?

Personally I think it's the G (and S class). They don't even have to bother with more expensive/luxurious, as there definitely is no "pull" there left anymore after downgrading the brand for decades..
And besides, after the G and S come the real luxury brands and real supercar brands with their line-up, and the choice becomes easy then.

What? The point that he was making is that the brand can still sell high dollar cars in good numbers. That is clear when you look at sales of the G, GT and even the S-Class. Saying that they have no pull or appeal at this level is just complete nonsense. The G sold over 10K copies for the first time in the USA. That speaks volumes at it's price point. The SL has been struggling for years, it isn't because the brand is shot, it's because that market is tough and IMO, the SL is overpriced for what it is.

M

 

[klier]

What? The point that he was making is that the brand can still sell high dollar cars in good numbers.

Namely the G and S.
And I agree they should focus more on the high end, but when you need economy of scale I don't see that working.

Deleting everything with A in the name sounds like the best plan to be honest.
And a merger with BMW even better.

 

[tristatez28lt1]

The currently dedicated electric SMART brand reconsidering its "exclusively BEV" strategy ? This SMART #5 prototype appears to indicate just that.
Indeed, the until recently very high expectations for a significant breakthrough in global BEV sales leading to dominance have been disappointed. An increasing number of manufacturers seem to be desperately backtracking and expanding their model ranges with PHEVs/EREVS.

Many brands are redeveloping ICE/PHEVs with big BEV range. Geely group is doing the same so Smart makes sense given their connections.

 

[Rolf]

For its upper class models I think Mercedes should bring in some unique styling ques that make them look grand and stand out from the lower models. With bigger chrome grills and even chrome bumpers. It would be great to make a retro S-class and Maybach S-class. They need to make their interiors much more bespoke and not share components with lesser models.

The S-class and Maybach needs to be like the older S and 600 models from the 60s and 70s with interiors that look highly expensive and made with impeccable materials.

 

[Merc1]

That really isn’t feasible anymore. The cars would double in price and sell in really tiny numbers. Those days are over.

M

 

[AbsoluteUnit]

Mercedes have the brand cache to move into proper luxury, but they would in turn become a smaller business overall. Higher margin yes, but smaller volume.

Their cars are already barely obtainable, but they would move into pure unobtainium if they moved up any further. The whole point of Mercedes was attainable luxury. Yeah they had the enormous ultra-luxury 560SE and 600SLs, but for each of those they also had 190E or 240D which sold in large numbers.

The issue with the SL, is that its just not that great of a product for what it is. The GT, which shares the same underpinnings is outselling it by a ridiculous margin. The SL in general has the baggage of being seen as an old-man car for the better part of 40 years. Long gone are the days of the racing pedigree from the 300SL, which was adopted into the SLS and now the GT.
Yeah they share the same architecture, but the layman doesn't know or care. They associate with the brand, and the SL brand is past its prime. They'd need to make something on the level of a 911 spyder to even stand a chance of reinvigorating that name plate, and in the current regulatory environment, that's basically impossible.

 

[Luca]

@Rolf, I agree with you, to stay on topic they have to invent something different for the interiors of the Mercedes of the future, for example I imagine that the new class c the cabin is a continuation of the class a, b, cls, with screen elongated