Mercedes-Benz To Discontinue Most Coupes, Wagons, And More — Getting Rid Of Over Half Its Body Styles
Automakers have been slowly killing off mainstay body styles for the past few years now. Ford made waves in 2018 when it discontinued most of its regular cars like the Focus and Fusion to shift gears and make more SUVs, crossovers, and trucks. Chevy followed suit soon after, axing cars like the Impala and Cruze. It's the unfortunate cost of doing business in the automotive world as public tastes have drifted more towards crossovers and trucks than conventional cars and station wagons. It wouldn't make sense for automakers to devote time and resources to making entire lines of automobiles that sit on dealership lots forever because it's an unpopular body style with a vast portion of the car-buying public, even if it does hurt the souls of enthusiasts or sedan fans.
German automaker Mercedes-Benz is the latest automaker to abandon huge portions of its U.S. and European lineup on the cutting room floor.
The future plans of Mercedes-Benz
In May 2022, Mercedes-Benz laid out its plans for the future in a press release. Those forward-looking plans did not include several different body styles from its current lineup. Car and Driver, after speaking with a spokesperson from Mercedes, confirmed that the brand is axing 19 of its existing 33 body styles throughout the 2020s. That includes many of its wagons and coupes, unfortunately. Mercedes will instead focus on not only the continued electrification of its lineup, but also the existing AMG and Maybach brands, as well as its current best sellers.
If you had your heart set on buying a new C-class, E-class wagon or coupe sometime soon, you may want to spring for one in the very near future as those models are not long for this world. Car and Driver says the wagon will leave this mortal plane for good in 2030, and the coupes only have a year or so to get their affairs in order.