Mercedes Is Quietly Planning Something Big To Crush The U.S. Luxury Market
Mercedes-Benz is preparing the largest new-model offensive in the United States since the automaker officially entered the market in 1965. The move is part of the brand’s push to reclaim the U.S. luxury car sales crown, which in recent years has been disputed by BMW and Lexus, with Mercedes-Benz in third. Mercedes-Benz USA CEO Adam Chamberlain reportedly told U.S. dealers that a product onslaught is coming during a meeting that took place over the weekend, according to Automotive News.
An Ambitious Sales Target Of 400,000+ Units Per Year
2025 Mercedes-Maybach S 680 Edition Emerald Isle exteriorMercedes-Benz
As part of the plans, Mercedes aims to reach 400,000 annual sales by the end of the decade, excluding fleet deliveries. This means that the overall sales target exceeds 400,000. For comparison, the German luxury car manufacturer sold 324,528 units in the U.S. last year, and that figure included both retail and fleet sales. So where is this massive increase going to come from? Apparently, Mercedes is going to follow its rivals’ strategy and add more affordable models to its U.S. lineup while at the same time improving and expanding its more upscale model lines. Up until now, Benz has focused on more expensive vehicles in order to avoid diluting its brand image. Obviously, those models also brought in healthy profit margins, but not sales volumes.
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For example, the automaker sells lower-end models in Europe that are not available in North America, most notably the A-Class compact hatchback, B-Class compact minivan and EQA compact electric crossover. Mercedes also sells the V-Class luxury minivan that is not available stateside.
An All-Out Model Offensive
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz will kick off the product offensive with a number of new models, both gas-powered and electric. The all-new CLA will arrive first, followed by the all-electric GLC, a ‘baby’ G-Class, as well as updated GLE and GLS SUVs. The next-generation V-Class luxury minivan is also expected to debut Stateside in 2026. A new AMG electric sedan with more than 1,000 hp is also in the pipeline for late 2026, with an SUV expected a year later. More V8-powered models are also coming, while vehicles powered by inline-six engines are scheduled to get updates.
Concept AMG GT XXMercedes-AMG
Chamberlain said SUVs like the GLC, GLE and GLS – both refreshed and all-new – should make up around 55% of U.S. sales by the end of the decade, up from 40% last year. "We have a huge opportunity with those cars to drive some growth," he reportedly said at the dealer meeting. Mind you, these are only the new products we know about, as Mercedes-Benz is likely to have some cards up its sleeves as well.
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It goes without saying that it won’t be easy for Mercedes to reclaim the top spot within four years. The last year the brand led the U.S. luxury car market was 2018, and BMW and Lexus obviously won’t stand still while Mercedes-Benz does its best to overtake them. Last year, BMW was the top-selling luxury car manufacturer in the U.S. with a total of 371,346 sales, with Lexus taking second place with 345,669 sales. Mercedes was third with 324,528 units, while Audi was a long way behind in fourth with 196,576 units. Source: Automotive News
