So far, Mercedes’ electric strategy hasn’t really worked. Dealers sometimes complain about EQ models “standing like lead in the yards”. The people of Stuttgart hope for a better future with new electrical architecture. The new generation of the CLA will benefit from the new developments from 2025.
They were soon sobered to discover in Stuttgart that the Mercedes EQS would not be as popular as the S-Class. But it’s doing so badly that the sedan is only shown together with the EQS SUV and the series in the USA fell by 55 percent from July to September 2023, while the S-Class increased by 47.5 percent, according to Automobilwoche reported, is a severe blow to the office. Apparently they have developed past the market. But development is a progressive process. Time of transformationLike other established car manufacturers, Mercedes is also in the stage of transformation. Models with combustion engines do the volume business – and earn the money for the development of the next generation of electric cars. The new electric vehicles should slowly push back the combustion engines in the second half of the decade. From 2030, Mercedes only wants to deliver purely battery-powered cars if possible, at least where “market conditions allow,” as the Stuttgart headquarters say. More range in the future – and more profit. Mercedes has largely completed phase 1 of its electric strategy. Including the AMG and Van, there are now eleven EQ models on the road. They are based on the EVA (Electric Vehicle Architecture), EVA 1.5 and EVA 2 platforms. But the engineers have long since set themselves new tasks, developing modular and dedicated electrical architectures, with better economies of scale, optimized packages and higher efficiency. Customers benefit from longer ranges, faster charging and lower consumption. Mercedes will incorporate these architectures into series production from 2025. For the passenger car division they are called MMA (Mercedes Modular Architecture) and MB.EA (Mercedes-Benz Electric Architecture). The performance subsidiary from Affalterbach, in turn, uses its own platform AMG.EA, including other cell chemistry for the batteries. A unique selling point is a special drive module on the rear axle. The van division calls its architecture Van.EA.Architectures from the middle to luxury class. While MMA represents the entry-level segment at Mercedes, the MB.EA covers the upper middle to luxury class. Both architectures work at 800 volts. It starts with MMA. The presentation of the future base will probably start at the end of 2024 (market launch in 2025). Mercedes recently presented the CLA study at the IAA Mobility in Munich. The sleek coupé sedan is intended to become the efficiency benchmark in the segment. The Stuttgart car manufacturers have already demonstrated what is possible in terms of consumption with the EQXX research car, which achieved consumption of less than ten kWh/100 km. The production version of the CLA shouldn’t be far off from this. Ranges of over 750 kilometers could then be included in the data sheet. However, the MMA was not designed exclusively for electric propulsion. The option to install electrified petrol engines is still reserved for some markets. Entry-level models are being phased out, segments are moving together. In addition to the CLA, there will be at least three other models in the entry segment, the CLA Shooting Brake – which will follow a few months later – as well as the two SUVs EQA and EQB. The A-Class as a hatchback and sedan, the long-wheelbase derivative built in China and the B-Class will be phased out without a successor. In the middle class, the new edition of the EQC is on the agenda for 2025. The less successful predecessor only ran from 2019 to 2023 and was neither convincing in terms of charging speed nor range. It is quite possible that the next EQC will already be equipped with new battery types (lithium iron phosphate or nickel manganese cobalt). A limousine also seems to be in preparation. It will be only a little longer than the CLA and therefore rank just below the EQE. Overall, the segments are moving closer together than before due to the electrical architectures, according to a Mercedes designer. In the long term, the EQ abbreviation is currently being discussed by the Stuttgart car maker about the nomenclature for the new models. If electric drive becomes normal later on, EQ would no longer be needed to represent this. The EQA and EQB could become the GLA and GLB, the EQC could become the GLC and the sedan counterpart would simply be called the C-Class. But none of this will happen before 2030. For now, Mercedes is busy enriching its portfolio with the new E-Class and its variants T-Model and T-Model All-Terrain (2024). The CLE Coupé is also launching now, with the Convertible following in the spring. Then, as an electric outsider, the EQG should finally be ready for delivery to the first customers. Uncertain future As ambitious as the plans for the future are, the present is just as difficult. According to information from Automobilwoche, the EQS in particular fell far short of expectations. “The vehicles in the EQ series are like lead on our farms,” a Mercedes dealer told the industry newspaper. And a high-ranking manager, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: “The new E-Class and the GLC are being ripped out of our hands while the electric cars don’t run at all.” Only the cheaper family models such as the EQA and EQB are enjoying themselves therefore an increasing demand.But they alone will not be able to meet the profit targets, and the luxury department is weakening because it cannot meet the expectations of demanding customers, especially in China and the USA. The developers are currently desperately trying to lower the back seat of the EQS a little in order to create more comfort in the back seat, the paper writes. From 2030, CEO Ola Källenius only wants to sell electric cars “where market conditions allow it”. This may be fewer markets than expected. How fortunate that the new electric platforms are also suitable for combustion engines.
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