Is the SUV trend still trending? Of course it is. And Mercedes-Benz knows it. That is exactly why the premium carmaker is progressively ditching several body styles. The wagons and the coupes are on the black list.
Mercedes-Benz is thus planning on expanding profit margins. It already sorted it out according to the long-term strategic plan that the company revealed in May 2022. It was a plan that saw the carmaker moving upmarket and reshaping its portfolio.
According to Car & Driver, only 14 of the 33 body styles, currently available in Europe and the United States, will live on. The journalists inquired top managers from Unterturkheim and Sindelfingen in Germany.
Models like the C-Class and E-Class Coupe and Cabriolet (Convertible) will see themselves out. They are what Mercedes was calling, several years ago, “dream cars.” So much for the dream cars that did not bring profit along these years. Mercedes is working on the CLE instead. It will be a two-door that will replace all four models in the lineup and will most likely debut sometime this year. The car has already been spotted testing by spy photographers.
The controversial CLS has its days counted as well. Mercedes has been having doubts about the world’s first four-door coupe for years. The Germans already have a four-door coupe in the lineup. It’s the AMG 4-Door Coupe.
The company is though planning to keep the SUV Coupes, but not for long. The all-new GLE facelift has already seen the light of day, with its high-ride coupe sibling.
Wagons and shooting brakes are also doomed. Mercedes has already dropped the CLA Shooting Brake from the lineup for the U.S market. The next-gen E-Class Estate will be the last wagon to come.
Instead, in order to go upmarket, Mercedes will be steering their attention towards the AMGs and the Maybachs. The SL roadster has already become an AMG-only product.
