2023-09-03 20:20:00
Mercedes Benz A Class
The A-Class will soon disappear from the Mercedes portfolio as an entry-level model.
(Photo: Daimler AG)
Munich The Stuttgart car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz is facing major changes in its vehicle portfolio. As the Dax group indirectly admitted for the first time on Sunday, the A-Class and B-Class, the two smallest models in all variants, will be discontinued in the future. With the introduction of the new Mercedes-Benz Modular Architecture (MMA) in 2025, three of the current seven body styles in the compact class will be eliminated.
“The new entry into the world of Mercedes-Benz will include four new models – a four-door coupé, a Shooting Brake and two SUVs,” explained Mercedes boss Ola Källenius in the run-up to the “IAA Mobility” trade fair in Munich. These descriptions do not apply to either the A-Class or the B-Class, so they will soon be history.
The CLA, CLA Shooting Brake, GLA and GLB remain in the segment of small to medium-sized cars with the star logo. The Handelsblatt had already reported on the adjustment of the Mercedes model range in June 2022.
The background to the reorganization is the luxury strategy of Mercedes frontman Källenius. The Swedish-German manager has been trimming the Swabian company for years to make a profit. In order to keep the operating return on sales above ten percent despite the expensive development of battery-electric drives, Mercedes is once again focusing on its core: large and expensive cars.
With brands like the A-Class, Mercedes has won many young customers in recent years and has been able to generate large numbers, especially in Europe. At the same time, the series is not very profitable compared to beefy sedans and SUVs such as the S-Class and GLE.
However, Källenius has ambitious return targets and swears by class over quantity. In this way, he wants to ensure that, on the one hand, he can pay for the necessary investments in electromobility and digitization and, on the other hand, that he always pays high dividends to shareholders.
“Acceptance problems” in society
The luxury course is controversial internally and externally. “I think this strategy is a serious mistake,” says a senior trade unionist. Economies of scale would become more important, not less important, when converting the fleet to electric drives and software architectures. In addition, many works councils are concerned about the utilization of important factories, such as the compact car plant in Rastatt.
More than a year ago, Winfried Hermann, Green Minister of Transport in Baden-Württemberg, warned of “problems with acceptance” in society if Mercedes “only builds cars for the rich and super-rich”. Many investors consider the current strategy of the brand with the star to be spot on.
“Mercedes was one of the first car manufacturers to recognize how important it is to focus on luxury in order to decouple a little from the general price pressure in the industry,” praises Michael Muders, fund manager at Union Investment. “The rapid implementation of this strategy is a great achievement.”
Mercedes Benz G Class
The popular off-road vehicle will soon have a little brother.
(Photo: Daimler AG)
In addition, Mercedes boss Källenius not only stamped out a few series, he also had his developers and designers create completely new makes. This includes, for example, a small variant of the enormously successful G-Class off-road vehicle, which has been sold out in Germany for months. “Yes, there will be a small G,” Källenius announced on Sunday. He thus confirmed a Handelsblatt report from February.
The compact G-Class should be purely electric and “immediately recognizable,” explained Källenius. The top manager gave no details. According to company circles, the new model will only be slightly shorter than the 4.80 meter long original, but should be noticeably lower. Visually, the two models will have strong similarities, like many siblings. An angular design can therefore also be expected for the Mini-G, which is expected to appear in 2026.
>> Read here: Bosch is withdrawing from the development of lidar sensors
Technically, the compact G-Class should be based partly on the MMA platform, partly on other architectures, according to corporate circles. The product should go at least 500 kilometers without recharging. The MB.OS operating system will also be on board as standard, as will an XXL display that stretches across the entire width of the cockpit.
The group showed a foretaste of future Mercedes vehicles on Sunday with the “Concept CLA”. The coupe is already very close to the 2025 production version of the model. The Swabians promise an electrical range of 750 kilometers and the lowest power consumption in the industry at twelve kilowatt hours per hundred kilometers.
The CLA will replace the A-Class in one and a half to two years as the entry-level model in the Mercedes brand world. The result: If you want to drive a car with a star logo, you have to spend a few thousand euros more than before.
More: Tesla Model 3: Facelift unveiled – What is new, what it costs
#Mercedes #confirms #small #GClass #AClass #BClass