Mercedes-Benz C-Class, S-Class and GLC EVs won't look like science experiments

Mercedes-Benz has made some of its electric vehicles (EVs) look dramatically different from its combustion-powered model, but now it’s moving away from this strategy.

“Going forward a coherent design language will be used across the entire portfolio,” the company said in releasing its annual report for 2024.

“BEV and electrified high-tech ICE models will exploit their respective strengths, without sacrificing space, elegance, convenience or efficiency.”

Mercedes-Benz will launch a new CLA small sedan with available electric power this year, and has confirmed electric versions of the mid-sized GLC SUV and C-Class sedan are also in the pipeline.

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The company’s CEO, Ola Källenius, also told Autocar last year there “will be two S-Classes in the future – ICE and electric”, styled similarly to each other if reportedly using different platforms.

You’ll notice the familiar names. Not only is Mercedes-Benz moving away from some of its more controversial EV design elements, it’s also moving away from its EQ naming strategy.

The electric G-Class debuted without the expected EQG nameplate, instead being called the G580 with EQ Technology.

The CLA, set to be revealed imminently, is expected to wear the same nameplate regardless of whether it’s powered by a combustion engine or an electric powertrain. Spy shots have shown there’s little visual difference between the two different powertrain types.

That’s similar to current Mercedes-Benz EVs like the EQA and EQB SUVs, which look much like the combustion-powered vehicles they’re based on, apart from unique front- and rear-end styling.

However, Mercedes-Benz vehicles based on the German carmaker’s dedicated Electric Vehicle Architecture (EVA) look vastly different from their combustion counterparts.

The EQE sedan and EQS liftback are characterised by their dramatic wedge profile but rounded styling details, while the EQE SUV and EQS SUV are much more rounded than the unrelated GLE and GLS SUVs.

In contrast, arch-rival BMW – with the exception of its iX – makes all of its EVs look more or less identical to their combustion-powered counterparts.

You need only look at sales results to see which approach appears to be working better. Last year in Australia, BMW sold 7787 EVs, up 160.4 per cent on 2023’s figure.

Mercedes-Benz sold 2603 EVs, down 18.4 per cent, despite having more EVs (12 versus 7) including various vans and people movers.

Globally, sales of EVs from the Mercedes-Benz Cars division fell in 2024 by 23.1 per cent compared to the year before, for a total of 185,059 sales.

Combined with plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), they accounted for 18.5 per cent of total division sales volume, down from 19.7 per cent in the previous year. This drop would have been worse were it not for a 13.2 per cent increase in PHEV sales.

Sales of electric Mercedes-Benz Vans products fell 13.9 per cent in 2024 to 19,516 units, though still sat at five per cent of total volume for the commercial vehicle division.

BMW, in contrast, sold 368,523 EVs – not including electric Mini and Rolls-Royce models – which was an improvement of 11.6 per cent on the previous year.

Of Mercedes-Benz’s more polarising EVs, the EQS is getting an update this year giving it more S-Class-style design cues. This update has yet to be locked in for Australia.

It’s unclear if its platform-mates will get similar visual tweaks.

Mercedes-Benz announced last year it would delay its target for EVs to account for 50 per cent of its global vehicle sales, from 2025 to 2030.

However, there is yet another caveat, with the brand now including sales of plug-in hybrids – which can drive limited distances on solely electric power – in its 2030 target.

Mercedes-Benz had previously announced its intention to go fully electric by 2030, but only in markets which supported the move, without announcing specific regions where it planned to phase out petrol and diesel cars.