At a time when most brands are dealing with extensive plans for electrification, to face the high costs of these, Mercedes-Benz will reduce the number of platforms, engines and models.
This decision is due to the need to reduce costs and production complexity, and also to optimize profits. Furthermore, it will allow the German brand to avoid the other formula used by many brands to achieve the desired savings: synergies.
This decision was confirmed by the director of research and development at Mercedes-Benz, Markus Schafer, who in statements to Autocar said: "we are reviewing our product portfolio, especially after having announced so many 100% electric models".
In the same interview, Schafer also stated: "the idea is to optimize — reducing models, but also platforms, engines and components."
Which models will disappear?
For now, Markus Schafer has not mentioned which models may be in the pipeline to be reformed. Even so, the German executive “raised the veil”, stating: “At the moment we have several models with a single platform and the idea is to reduce them. In the future we will have several models developed based on the same platform”.
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A quick look at the Mercedes-Benz range lets us see that the models with their own platform include the G-Class, S-Class, Mercedes-AMG GT and Mercedes-Benz SL.
The G-Class is still new and has years of commercialization ahead of it, but what will become of its successor, if it has one? The spy photos of the new generation of the S-Class (unveiled this year) are also increasing — everything indicates that it will be based on an evolution of the MRA, the modular platform used by the E-Class and C-Class, for example.
Regarding the new SL, which is also expected to be revealed in 2020, some synergies seem to have been achieved, by resorting to a derivation from the same base as the Mercedes-AMG GT.
And the engines?
As we told you, the number of Mercedes-Benz platforms, engines and models will be reduced. However, with regard to the engines that are likely to disappear, these also remain an open question.
About these, Markus Schafer only said: "while there is a search, the plan is not to "dismiss" the V8 and V12″.
However, for Schafer there is an element that will make Mercedes-Benz rethink its engines: the Euro 7 standard. According to Schafer, it is with the introduction of the Euro 7 — still to be defined, as well as the date of its introduction, with some voices mentioning the year 2025 — this could lead to a reduction in engines.
However, the Mercedes-Benz executive stated that he prefers to wait for its requirements and adapt the response from there.
Source: Autocar.
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