STUTTGART, Germany – Mercedes-Benz is aiming to give its future models a more instantly recognizable and characterful appearance, drawing on classic styling cues from the past while embracing new, tech-led touches for both upcoming internal-combustion-engine and electric vehicles.
The first model to showcase the shift is the upcoming all-electric GLC, the successor model to the discontinued EQC and set to make its debut at the IAA Mobility show in Munich this September prior to a North American sales launch in 2026.
Among the most notable changes to the appearance of the luxury automaker’s future models is what it describes as its “iconic grille” – a stylized reimagining of the traditional Mercedes-Benz front end.
The new grille is taller and narrower than the grilles of current Mercedes models. In place of the slats of ICE models, or the black-panel effect of recent electric models, the GLC’s grille features 942 light points in six modules – all framed in chrome and illuminated with 141 backlights.
The light points aim to provide an appearance similar to the honeycomb effect of the exposed radiators featured on Mercedes models of the early 1900s. Animated backlighting and an illuminated Mercedes-Benz star logo are set to offer additional visual drama to the new grille in markets where the legal framework permits, but the message is clear: This is the new face of the world’s oldest automobile brand.
Design chief Gorden Wagener tells WardsAuto the move is about “sticking out in a sea of sameness” and “redefining what it means to look like a Mercedes-Benz.”
“It’s not just a front end,” he says. “It’s identity.”
The new design lineage comes in response to criticism of the appearance of recent EQ models. The EQE and EQS sedans and SUVs have been called bland, overly rounded and too indistinct – particularly in silhouette and front-end styling. The new grille aims to address these shortcomings and usher in a stronger visual identity.
The new electric GLC, the first model to be based on Mercedes-Benz’s MB.EA battery-electric-vehicle platform, kicks off a planned family of new electric Mercedes models to feature the German automaker’s more expressive design lineage, including a new electric C-Class sedan and E-Class sedan – the latter expected to succeed the existing EQE sedan toward the end of the decade.
More than just styling flair, the shift in styling marks a deliberate push to restore visual distinctiveness and identity when many electric sedans and SUVs are starting to look alike. Whether buyers respond to the combination of heritage and technology remains to be seen, but Mercedes-Benz is betting that familiarity still breeds desire.
