The Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class, the mannequin largely credited with kicking off the coupe-like sedan pattern with the arrival of the primary technology in 2004, will quickly be discontinued.
First reported on Tuesday by The Drive, and since confirmed by Mercedes, the CLS-Class will bow out of manufacturing on Aug. 31, 2023.
The date is when Mercedes will begin manufacturing of the redesigned 2024 E-Class, the mannequin the CLS-Class is historically linked with.
Gross sales of the CLS-Class have been on the decline for a number of years. Mercedes teams CLS-Class gross sales along with the E-Class, and in 2022 the 2 nameplates solely managed 18,818 gross sales within the U.S., down 10% on the earlier yr. The GLE-Class and GLE-Class Coupe SUVs collectively managed 63,050 gross sales over the identical interval.
Sedan gross sales basically have been on a decline as patrons proceed to flock to SUVs. It hasn’t helped that Mercedes lately has launched a lot of different coupe-like sedans, crowding out what was already a distinct segment section. Further coupe-like sedans provided by the automaker embrace the compact CLA-Class, high-performance AMG GT 4-Door Coupe, and EQE and EQS electrical duo.
Studies of the CLS-Class’ demise first surfaced as early as 2020. In accordance with those self same experiences, the AMG GT 4-Door Coupe will even be discontinued after the present mannequin reaches the tip of its life cycle, although AMG is tipped to launch an electrical successor across the center of the last decade, previewed in 2022 by the Imaginative and prescient AMG idea automobile.
In a press release, Mercedes stated a “new technology of coupes and convertibles” are coming to assist fill the void. The automaker is probably going referring to a brand new CLE-Class coupe and CLE-Class Cabriolet which can be set to switch the previous two-door variations of each the C-Class and E-Class later this yr.