Mercedes is planning the “greatest product launch program in historical past,” with 18 vehicles set to debut subsequent 12 months and one other 14 fashions in 2027. Most will probably be next-generation automobiles or facelifts of current fashions, however just a few all-new additions are additionally within the pipeline. All instructed, the Stuttgart-based luxurious automaker “runs about 40 physique variants,” in accordance with CEO Ola Källenius. Regardless of the already advanced lineup, the top of the corporate isn’t ruling out much more fashions.

Talking with Auto Categorical, Källenius rhetorically requested, “Might there be extra niches nonetheless? I’m not going to exclude that. If we consider there’s a market want, we’ll go for it. [At Mercedes] we eat, sleep, and drink vehicles.” Nonetheless, don’t anticipate the corporate to take wild dangers. The times when automakers might afford to experiment with unconventional, probably slow-selling fashions are over: “We additionally run a enterprise. There must be a enterprise case.”

Mercedes SLC Last Version

The CEO’s feedback a couple of attainable lineup enlargement may appear shocking, particularly since Mercedes has been trimming its portfolio. The SLC, CLS, and AMG GT Convertible are already gone, whereas the T-Class and Citan are being phased out. Moreover, the C-Class Coupe/Convertible and E-Class Coupe/Convertible have been consolidated into the CLE lineup. The B-Class minivan can also be anticipated to bow out someday subsequent 12 months.

Mercedes had initially deliberate to discontinue the A-Class by 2026, but it surely’s sticking round. Mercedes’ head of manufacturing, Jörg Burzer, instructed Automobilwoche the “compact sedan continues to be very fashionable with our clients, particularly in Europe.” The five-door hatchback has additionally earned a reprieve, that means the prevailing A-Class will proceed to be bought alongside the brand new CLA sedan and wagon, each of which will probably be provided with gasoline and electrical drivetrains.

As a refresher, Handelsblatt reported final 12 months that Mercedes might discontinue the GLC Coupe and GLE Coupe. A extra radical declare got here from Automobilwoche in 2022, which advised the model’s wagons can be phased out solely by the top of the last decade. However that appears unlikely, contemplating even the entry-level CLA has simply acquired a wagon model for the third time.

Additional simplification of the lineup will come by unifying EQ fashions with their inside combustion counterparts. Mercedes has already confirmed the EQS, described by design boss Gorden Wagener as a automotive that got here out “10 years too early,” will probably be dropped after a single era. It can make method for a next-generation S-Class that will probably be provided in each ICE and EV variations.

Confirmed additions to the lineup embody electrical variations of the C-Class and GLC, in addition to an electrical AMG sedan and SUV duo. Wanting additional forward, Mercedes is engaged on a downsized G-Class, nicknamed the “Little G,” which is anticipated to be obtainable with each gasoline and electrical powertrains.

Talking of multi-drivetrain methods, Mercedes plans to proceed this method for the foreseeable future. Källenius just lately mentioned the corporate has made a “course correction” to increase the lifetime of combustion engines into the 2030s and presumably past, given slower-than-expected EV adoption:

“Electrified high-tech combustion engines will run longer than we initially anticipated. Within the present state of affairs, I feel essentially the most rational method is for a longtime producer to do each and never neglect both expertise.”