Mercedes has began down a path of aligning the design of its ICE and EV fashions, beginning with its all-new electric GLC. In response to Mathias Geisen, Merc’s board member for gross sales and advertising and marketing, this plan has been formulated to present patrons a selection of powertrain with out being pressured into or out of Merc’s extra conventional design language on the similar time.
Nevertheless, this determination was solely made in the course of the brand new GLC’s growth, when the model redesigned the automotive’s entrance finish with its attention-grabbing illuminated grille. Talking with Auto Categorical, Geisen advised us: “We replace merchandise in [their] growth on a regular basis. However I’d fairly be targeted on what we’ve proper now.
“Once we launched the primary EV,” he mentioned, “we have been beneath the impression that clients are very targeted on having a differentiated design between a battery electrical [car] and one with a combustion engine.
“What we’ve learnt over time,” Geisen advised us, “is that our clients say, ‘Hey guys, we like your design, however we’d prefer to resolve whether or not to have an electrical powertrain or a combustion powertrain,’ in order that’s certainly one thing that you simply’ll see going ahead.”
This implies we’ll see the tip of Merc’s pebble-shaped EVs just like the EQS and EQE, with the model as an alternative taking an identical path to BMW by creating two similar-looking fashions with distinct variations beneath the pores and skin. This will even be the case for the brand new electric C-Class that we’ll see in 2026, in addition to a brand new electric E-Class that shall be out there someday after.
Reiterating this level, Markus Schafer, Merc’s board member for analysis and growth, advised us: “With the pores and skin, we would like it to look the identical, and for our MBUX system, too, however beneath the pores and skin the 2 vehicles are utterly completely different. We might do the one platform for our MMA fashions due to their transverse engine-layout, however when you’ve a longitudinal engine, it simply doesn’t work.”
So anticipate massive grilles on Mercedes’s future fashions it doesn’t matter what powertrain is mounted behind them – whether or not you want them or not.
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