Mercedes-Benz announced their latest plan of global domination…er, not in a Bond villain kind of way, just the market share of luxury cars. There’s a lot to unpack, but there are some key points of note there, such as the new CLA, a major upgrade for the S-Class in 2026, which will retain its V12 power plant, and a host of new AMG models. These launches will continue till 2027, at which point they will presumably release another update of their further future plans.
New CLA
The new Mercedes-Benz CLA will be the first car from the three-pointed star to ditch the EQ nomenclature for electric vehicles, and it will also have similar design language between the electric and ICE-powered version. It will have an all-electric drivetrain or a 48-volt electrified four-cylinder motor, paired with an electrified eight-speed dual-clutch transmission.
New E- and C-Class and new GLC
After the CLA, Mercedes-Benz will launch new all-electric versions of the E-Class, followed by the new C-Class; these two cars being the bread-and-butter for the marque. These will then be followed up with the new electric GLC, another one of their more successful models in recent years.
Baby G, g-Class
A new teaser has dropped of a smaller G-Class, which has grown quite large over the years. Mercedes denotes the smaller G-Class with lowercase “g”, and this will most likely be a three-door model. We feel this might have something to do with the success of the Land Rover Defender 90.
V8s for everyone
After a massive pushback from the AMG customers about the new Mercedes-AMG C 63 being equipped with an electrified turbocharged four-cylinder powertrain, Mercedes-Benz have confirmed that the V8 will return to the AMG models.
The V12 lives on
Only found in the S-Class and having disappeared from the SL, it was rumoured that the 12-cylinder will be put to rest. However, Mercedes-Benz confirmed that it will continue in the next generation of the S-Class. BMW and Audi have both dropped the 12-cylinder engine from their line-up, in 2022 and 2017 respectively; although the BMW V12 continues in the Rolls-Royce portfolio.
Mercedes-Benz is testing the holy grail solid-state battery.
This future tech is believed to be the silver bullet to unlocking mass electric car adoption.
Solid-state batteries are smaller, lighter, more energy dense and less fire prone than current battery options.
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UK publication, Autocar, has reported the German maker has fitted the future batteries from US supplier Factorial to its latest EQS prototype and is claiming it can travel more than 1000km in the real world between charges.
Mercedes-Benz hasn’t revealed technical details of the battery yet, but said it boosts range compared to current batteries by 25 per cent.
According to the report this is just the first step towards solid-state batteries that boost range by 80 per cent compared to current lithium-ion batteries.
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Mercedes-Benz EQS sedan (image: Tom White)
We won’t be seeing the batteries in production cars until at least the end of the decade, though.
Initially the high cost of developing the technology will likely mean the tech will be reserved for only high-end machines.
A senior Audi engineer told CarsGuide last year that solid state technology wasn’t likely to be feasible for ‘everyday’ cars in the foreseeable future due to the minuscule manufacturing margins of error required.
0 seconds of 11 minutes, 14 secondsVolume 90%
Vice President of Passenger Cars at SAIC, Yu Jingmin, said at the 2024 Chengdu motor show the company would fit solid-state batteries to its cars this year. SAIC owns MG, which means we could see the tech on Australian roads soon.
BYD, Chery and GWM have all committed to the technology and are forecasting it to be used in production vehicles very soon.
China’s advanced battery manufacturing and sheer scale of production could result in these brands having a price advantage over others and put them in pole position to dominate the next generation of electric cars.
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Mercedes-Benz EQS sedan (image: Tom White)
Solid-state batteries are still all but prototypes for now, and we won’t know if they are truly possible until one arrives in a production vehicle at some point this decade, but the possible breakthrough is exciting.
