Taking advantage of its transition to electric mobility, Mercedes-Benz will restructure its line-up in the coming years, which will be made up of three sub-ranges: Entry Luxury (access models), Core Luxury (intermediate models), and Top-End Luxury (high-end models ). high-end, including those from Mercedes-AMG and Mercedes-Maybach).
The current compact range of the star firm, made up of Class A, Class B, CLA, CLA Shooting Brake, GLA/EQA, and GLB/EQB, will see its size reduced, going from seven to four models. With this move, Mercedes-Benz wants to focus on the most profitable vehicles in its offering, a strategy that competitors such as Audi and BMW are also following.
It is confirmed that the CLA, GLA/EQA, and GLB/EQB will survive, while the Class B minivan will not have a new generation. However, the information regarding the Class A and CLA Shooting Brake is confusing, as it is still not very clear which of the two will have continuity. The latest statements by Holger Enzmann, project manager for the EVA2 platform, seem to shed a little light on the matter.
“We have talked about Class A and we are looking for [a replacement]. It won’t use the EVA2 [platform] as it’s for larger vehicles, but you can be sure we’ll see a vehicle in this segment. ” With these words, Enzmann has denied a recent report that the A-Class would be the third model in the compact range to fall out of favor.
The Mercedes-Benz A-Class will belong to the “Entry Luxury” range
We must not lose sight of the fact that the hatchback is currently one of the company’s best-selling models, contributing a significant portion of its sales volume. In addition, Markus Schäfer, director of operations at Mercedes-Benz, declared at the time that the firm would not develop electric cars with family bodywork because it is a category in decline, a veiled confirmation that the days of the CLA Shooting Brake are numbered.
All Mercedes-Benz “Entry Luxury” models will be based on the MMA modular platform, whose electric version will have an 800-volt system; In addition, this architecture will be responsible for launching the new MB.OS operating system in 2024. In its access versions, the “Entry Luxury” models will have LFP (lithium-ferrophosphate) batteries.
Rumors also suggest that Mercedes-Benz could unify its offer in the C (compact) and D (medium) segments since there are currently certain overlaps between some of its models (both the CLA and C-Class as well as the GLB and GLC practically measure the same). Therefore, the future electric CLA and GLB/EQB would also occupy the space of the Class C and GLC, which will not have versions of this type. However, this end has not yet been confirmed, as the brand considers segment C “Entry Luxury” and segment D “Core Luxury”.
