Jump to content
Create New...
  • William Maley
    William Maley

    Mercedes-Benz Plans To Slice Down Models and Trims in U.S.

      ...Mercedes-Benz learns there is such a thing as too much...

    Did you know that Mercedes-Benz has nearly 30 models on sale in the U.S. at the moment? Factor in the various engine choices and body styles and you're looking at nearly 90 different models. This is causing Mercedes-Benz and their dealers a number of headaches dealing with it.

    "It has gotten to the point of being just too much to manage customer model confusion, vehicle logistics and manufacturing. Each of these models require marketing support, education at the dealer level, even service and parts inventory," said Jeff Schuster, president of global forecasting at LMC Automotive.

    Mercedes is going to do something about it. Earlier this month, the German automaker told dealers at a national meeting in Las Vegas they would be cutting back on the number of models it offers within the next twelve months.

    "We are going to see models go away within the next 12 months. Within the next 90 days, we might see some of those announcements," according to one unnamed dealer who was at the meeting.

    The automaker also announced that it would be scaling back the number of options and equipment packages it offers. Poor selling options would be dropped, while popular ones would become "standard equipment on certain models" or tacked "onto existing feature packages."

    What models may get the ax? We know that the SLC roadster will be leaving the lineup next year due to slumping sales. Automotive News speculates the C-Class coupe/cabrio and S-Class coupe/cabrio could also go due to sales falling.

    Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

    Edited by William Maley

    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments

    Mercedes has 30 models?!  Wow, they really need to cull that herd to at least 15, and ideally 10-12 models.  GM had too many brands with the same cars in each brand prior to BK.  This situation is almost as ridiculous.

    • Agree 1
    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    I honestly see no reason to have more than 10-12 models at most. OEMs can easily go with base, sport and performance models, 3 trim lines on a single model and you can tweak the options. MB and BMW went crazy at each other with building models for roles that did not exist nor really I think made business sense. Flush with money makes marketing peeps go crazy.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Part of the problem with Benz (and more so at BMW), is they consider the E-Sedan, E-Wagon, E-Coupe, E-Convertible, E-AMG of each of those, to be different models.  They're not.  They are one model with different body-styles or trims.  If they're going to cut body styles, I kinda expect that. but they're not cutting that many "models"..  because an E300 coupe is not a distinct model. 

    Edit: And the first thing they can cut is the stupid crossover coupes.... they sell terribly. 

    • Agree 2
    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    I am seeing those crossover coupes more and more, I could see cutting GLC coupe that seems to sell worse than the GLE.

    SLC is dead, And some of the coupes and convertibles will die because people don’t buy those anymore.  They sold 2200 S-class coupe and convertible last year, that is a lot for a $150k vehicle so cutting that is curious but the new SL can replace those.

    They are also adding GLB, EQC, EQA, EQS and more so they don’t seem to be shrinking just rearranging the lineup.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    23 hours ago, riviera74 said:

    Mercedes has 30 models?!  Wow, they really need to cull that herd to at least 15, and ideally 10-12 models.

    Another piece I saw on this news said if you go by badging, the count is actually 90. I agree with DD; that that's misleading and they're all the same cars, not different models, and frankly I never got the unilateral approach to naming the same car differently depending entirely on it's engine for absolutely everything.  

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites



    Join the conversation

    You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
    Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

    Guest
    Add a comment...

    ×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

      Only 75 emoji are allowed.

    ×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

    ×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

    ×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


  • google-news-icon.png



  • google-news-icon.png

  • Subscribe to Cheers & Gears

    Cheers and Gears Logo

    Since 2001 we've brought you real content and honest opinions, not AI-generated stuff with no feeling or opinions influenced by the manufacturers.

    Please consider subscribing. Subscriptions can be as little as $1.75 a month, and a paid subscription drops most ads.*
     

    You can view subscription options here.

    *a very limited number of ads contain special coupon deals for our members and will show

  • Similar Content

  • Posts

    • Those that cannot accept a multi-cultural world and immigration deserve to lose everything. I will stay professional, but believe that our North American Economy is about to get far worse over the long term than it is now. It is amazing how people do not seem to realize that the first two years of a new president is dealing with the ramifications of the last president. The high inflation was due to the failed policies of those before. We now have low unemployment and a strong economy. Will be interesting to see how it ends.
    • I say, let it get worse.  The people have spoken and this is what the MAJORITY voted for.  He even got the popular vote.  Therefore the people of America have spoken.   This is what they want.  This is what they feel comfortable with.   But I dont want to hear ANY whining from ANYBODY about what possibly may happen with him Him in power.  Fool me once,  shame on you!  Fool me twice, shame on me?   Technically this is how that saying goes.  But you never know. Maybe it really IS the lefty libtards that are the problem.   Hopefully it IS the lefty libtards that are the problem and the Messiah Trump will BE the solution to ALL of our problems.   I will be the first one to apologize if He actually does fix America's and Canada's problems.  And unite ALL of the world and the world gets to sing Kumbaya ALL in unison. Hopefully He is the next coming of Christ.   Keeping my fingers crossed but I aint holding my breath if you know what I mean.   
    • @oldshurst442 This pretty much sums up just how bad it is going to get. Trump's economic plans would worsen inflation, experts say | AP News
    • Not just iPhones... He tariffed Canadian wood the first time around as Pres and the prices of wood skyrocketed so American home builders bought American wood which was and is more expensive than Canadian wood.  I guess that is good for American wood producers. But for the fact that house prices also skyrocketed.  And considering that Canada and US have a more or less good trading thing going on...so not that good.  Not for the US and not good for Canada.  But Donald thinks otherwise. And all the folk that voted for him this time around think that the economy will get better?  I hope so for their sake. But Elon and Jeff B's billions rose quite a bit upon the announcement of his re-election.  I wonder if those  people that voted for him, I wonder if their wealth also rose instantly?    You poor bastards... You have no idea what is coming to you... (those that voted for him.  With the excemption of the rich of course)     Donnie Rides Again
  • Who's Online (See full list)

    • There are no registered users currently online
  • My Clubs

×
×
  • Create New...

Hey there, we noticed you're using an ad-blocker. We're a small site that is supported by ads or subscriptions. We rely on these to pay for server costs and vehicle reviews.  Please consider whitelisting us in your ad-blocker, or if you really like what you see, you can pick up one of our subscriptions for just $1.75 a month or $15 a year. It may not seem like a lot, but it goes a long way to help support real, honest content, that isn't generated by an AI bot.

See you out there.

Drew
Editor-in-Chief

Write what you are looking for and press enter or click the search icon to begin your search