“We are going to see models go away within the next 12 months,” said one dealer privy to the meetings. “Within the next 90 days, we might see some of those announcements.”
As we peruse the current models on offer from Mercedes, it’s clear the German brand is extremely fragmented. There isn’t anything unique about Mercedes in this respect, as BMW and Audi race to catch up with their own massive lineups of cars and SUVs. Still, Mercedes is especially diverse among its German competition, and it just continues to grow.
The proliferation of AMGs is partly to thank for adding extra variants of models. There are AMG 43, 63 and even 53 versions for a number of models now, with no end in sight for adding even more. Try and count them all, and you’ll find more than 40 AMG Mercedes. We’re not complaining that performance models exist, but it’s a fact of the brand now. AMG isn’t reserved for completely bonkers German muscle cars anymore.
Some were left scratching their heads when Mercedes revealed both the new A-Class and CLA for sale in America in a relatively short timespan. Perhaps there is room for two, similarly-sized sedans in the lineup, but it certainly seems like there’s some fat to be trimmed there. The GLB crossover is reportedly going to be in dealerships by Christmas, and that will just add to the already expansive SUV range.
It’s still unclear what models or variants might be on the chopping block, but the massive amount of coupes and convertibles seems like a decent place to start. C-Class, E-Class and S-Class coupes and convertibles were all cited by Automotive News as potential casualties due to their weak sales numbers. The SLC Roadster’s demise next year has already been announced by Mercedes. But don’t expect the cuts to come from the hot SUV segment, as sales remain strong here.
We’ve asked Mercedes if it would provide us with any further details about the cuts proposed to dealers, and will update when we hear back.
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