The next generation Mercedes-Benz S-Class and EQS will be unified under one name as part of a move by the German brand to bring parity between its EV and combustion-engine line-ups.
This means the car maker’s flagship will continue with ICE power in its eighth generation – due in 2030 – despite Mercedes previously pledging to replace it with the Mk2 EQS from the end of the decade.
Mercedes will therefore do away with the EQS name introduced on its flagship electric model in 2021, CEO Ola Källenius has confirmed. “There will be two S-Classes in the future – ICE and electric,” he said, adding that both versions will feature similar exterior and interior designs.
However, they won’t be based on the same platform, Autocar understands. The S-Class EV is set to use the upcoming MB.EA Large platform and its ICE sibling will be on a further developed version of today’s MRA architecture.
The plan mirrors the positioning of the new G-Class, which now comes with both combustion-engine and electric drivetrain options without any significant difference in styling.
The unification of the two models follows disappointing sales of both the S-Class and EQS, with deliveries of the ICE car plummeting by 37% in the first quarter of 2024. This has resulted in S-Class production being cut to just a single shift at the Factory 56 facility in Sindelfingen, Germany, which also produces the EQS.
Mercedes initially projected that electric models would account for more than 20% of its 2,043,800 global sales in 2023. However, they achieved only an 11% share, despite a 73% increase in the firm’s EV sales compared with 2022.
This shortfall undermines Källenius’s earlier goal of pure-electric and plug-in hybrid models making up 50% of the brand’s annual sales by the end of 2025. In a strategy update made earlier this year, Mercedes revised this forecast to 50% by 2030.
In Europe, this sales lag has resulted in the EV car parc growing by just 2% so far in 2024 compared with last year, prompting manufacturers such as Audi, Ford and Porsche to change tack and refocus on ICE and hybrid cars.