Mercedes-Benz will launch 32 new models in 2022

Mercedes-Benz will launch 32 new models for 2022 in a massive rollout. The star brand’s range will be filled with electric cars, the Project One supercar, intelligent SUVs and a plug-in hybrid saloon that could deliver more than 800 CV of power, among other models.

The headline acts in the programme for the new far-reaching model, confirmed by some sources close to the brand, are several premium city cars, including replacements for the current C-Class, S-Class and SL.

According to the plans, the new SL will return to its roots by featuring a traditional fabric soft-top for the first time in more than two decades when it is unveiled in early 2021 as a reborn 2+2 sports car.

A series of new AMG performance models is also being developed as part of Mercedes-Benz’s ongoing efforts to maintain its global crown in luxury car sales. The upcoming newcomers from Mercedes-AMG include a flagship fast GT 4-Door Coupé with an advanced plug-in hybrid powertrain delivering more than 800 CV, and a GT Black track-focused series.

There will also be the production version of the delayed Project One hypercar, whose deliveries are now unlikely to take place until 2021 due to constant delays in emissions testing.

This is what the new Mercedes-Benz offensive will look like

At the most price-sensitive end of the range, the city car brand Smart from Mercedes-Benz will update its line-up with the new electric models Fortwo and Forfour, which will go on sale in mid-year.

For 2022, the Smart line will grow as the star brand works more closely with Chinese automotive giant Geely, which now holds a 50% stake in the city car maker, to develop a series of new urban models. One of them will be a battery-electric compact SUV that will be built in China and exported to the UK.

Other key new Mercedes-Benz models for the near future include five electric vehicles from its new EQ electric car sub-brand. These production versions form part of the earlier EQA and NCA concepts, plus new JCA, EQE and EQG models. Together, they form part of a €10 billion development programme aimed at pushing the German brand to the front of the electric car ranks by the middle of the decade.

Mercedes-Benz’s new entry-level electric model, the EQA, is based on the second-generation GLA, alongside which it will be produced at the firm’s Rastatt factory in Germany. Although it retains the same bodywork as its combustion-engined sibling, it receives its own individual front and rear styling elements in a move similar to that of the larger EQC.

Details of the EQA’s powertrain remain scarce, but manufacturer sources suggest it will be sold with a choice of up to three electric motors and different battery capacities. The most efficient is expected to give this rival to the Volkswagen ID 3 a range of close to 500 kilometres.

At the other end of the future Mercedes-Benz electric car line-up sits the EQS, which will be the first model to use the company’s dedicated MEA electric car platform.

The EQS is described as similar in size to the current CLS. However, unlike its combustion-engined sibling, the new top-of-the-range EQ model will feature a liftback-style tailgate for added practicality. With a 100kWh battery housed within its flat floor, the EQS is claimed to offer a range of close to 600 kilometres in its final form.

The expanded line-up of exclusive EQ-branded electric models will be joined by new petrol plug-in hybrid versions, badged EQ Power for the second-generation CLA and GLA and the facelifted E-Class, which will be presented at three locations at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

The front-wheel-drive CLA 250e and GLA 250e plug-in hybrids will use the same system as that found in the A250e and B250e. This means a 1.3-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine and a gearbox-mounted electric motor producing 215 CV and around 600 Nm of peak torque. A 15.6kWh battery provides an electric range of around 60 kilometres.

A renewed range of models

By the end of this year, Mercedes-Benz plans to offer 20 plug-in hybrid models. These will range from the A250e to an advanced replacement for the S560e that will form part of the new seventh-generation S-Class line-up and offer more than double the electric range of its predecessor, according to engineers involved in its development.

Developed from scratch, the new S-Class is described as the most advanced production Mercedes model to date. The basis for the new luxury saloon is a reworked version of the Mercedes-Benz MRA platform and a completely new electrical architecture that supports a multitude of new driver-assistance systems, including level-three autonomous functions and driverless valet parking.

Volume-selling S-Class models are set to retain the 2.9-litre turbocharged six-cylinder diesel and 3.0-litre turbocharged six-cylinder petrol units in standard and plug-in hybrid guise, including the one used by the successor to the current S560e. Top-of-the-range models will be based on the 4.0-litre turbocharged V8 petrol engine developed by AMG with new mild-hybrid properties.

In future, the new S-Class will be produced exclusively as a saloon, with the option of a standard or extended wheelbase depending on the country in which it is sold.

Slow sales of the S-Class Coupé and Cabriolet have made them victims of a consolidation programme for traditional combustion-engined models, according to experts, who say the two body styles will not be replaced when they reach the end of their model cycle in 2022.

Despite broad cost-cutting measures aimed at saving up to €1 billion over the next two years under an internal efficiency programme called Move, the German brand’s new chief executive, Ola Källenius, has approved what is described as the company’s most intense new drive model yet.

Among the key targets set in the development of future models by Källenius, who has spent the last two years at the helm of Mercedes-Benz’s vast R&D operations, is a dramatic reduction in the company’s CO2 fleet emissions as part of efforts to comply with strict new EU regulations that introduce a 95 g/km limit by the end of 2020. It is central to what the manufacturer calls its ‘Ambition 2039‘ plan, which demands a CO2-neutral line-up within the next 20 years.

In recent years, the popularity of high-margin SUVs and declining diesel sales have hampered the brand’s efforts to reduce its fleet CO2 emissions. The latest official figure published by the company put its fleet CO2 emissions at 135 g/km, well above the prescribed 95 g/km. This leaves the company susceptible to substantial EU fines should that figure not improve significantly by the end of 2020.

Goal: meeting emissions regulations

Although electrification will play a key role in reducing Mercedes-Benz’s fleet CO2 emissions, its engineers are also focusing on increasing the efficiency of its traditional petrol engines.

Mercedes-Benz will introduce a new four-cylinder engine in the facelifted E-Class which, it claims, offers greater efficiency than any rival unit. Named M254, it replaces the earlier M274 engine and features modular properties that allow it to share several aspects of its design, including an integrated 48V starter motor, with the larger six-cylinder M264.

The 2.0-litre unit, which will also play an integral role in the fifth-generation C-Class launching in 2021, was conceived to meet Euro 7 emissions regulations, although Mercedes-Benz engineers have told some sources this is likely to be achieved only through electrification.

Additional efforts in CO2 reduction include a controversial decision to replace the 4.0-litre turbocharged V8 used by the existing C63 with a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder in a plug-in hybrid successor that will head up the new-generation C-Class.

The decision to move to four-cylinder power for the C63 follows AMG’s moves to provide larger models with a mild-hybrid variant of its 4.0-litre turbocharged V8. Launching in the forthcoming GLE 63 S and GLS 63 S, it supplements the combustion engine’s 604 CV and 800 Nm with an additional 22 CV and 200 Nm from an integrated starter motor mounted in a gearbox similar to that used by the GLE 53 and GLS 53.

Mercedes-Benz and Geely: what can we expect?

Mercedes-Benz and Chinese carmaker Geely have held preliminary talks about how the two could cooperate on a range of projects, including the future four-cylinder petrol engine and the development of the dual-clutch gearbox, according to senior executives at the German firm.

Geely, which holds a 9.7% stake in Daimler, parent company of Mercedes-Benz and owns brands such as Volvo and Lotus, consolidated its operational ties with Mercedes’s passenger car division in early 2019, when it agreed to buy a 50% stake in Smart.

Earlier this month, Mercedes-Benz and Geely confirmed that they were cooperating on the development of a new intelligent SUV. Due in 2022, it is claimed to be among a series of new smart models that will be built in China by the middle of the decade.

“Initial conversations about Smart have led to further internal discussions about whether it would make sense to work with Geely in other areas, including engine and gearbox development,” a brand source revealed at the recent Consumer Electronics Show 2020 in Las Vegas.

At this early stage, the talks are described as built around “exploring possibilities rather than anything concrete”. However, with questions over Mercedes’s operational alliance with French carmaker Renault, suggestions are that chief executive Ola Källenius could move to forge an increasingly deep working relationship with Geely.

Areas flagged by Mercedes-Benz insiders for possible cooperation with Geely include four-cylinder petrol engines and dual-clutch gearboxes for future compact models. These include successors to the current A-Class hatchback and saloon, B-Class, CLA, CLA Shooting Brake, GLA and GLB.

In addition to working with Geely, Mercedes-Benz also operates joint ventures with BAIC (Beijing Automotive Industry Corporation) and BYD (Build Your Dreams) based in Shenzhen.