Remember the “One-Bow” design? Sure you do, because Mercedes-Benz talked it to death when they unveiled the EQS, and then on the EQE, and basically every other electric-only EQ models they have. Well, no matter how you feel about it, that’s all going away because future Mercedes-Benz EVs will look a lot more like their ICE counterparts.
Announced during its 2024 financial results briefing yesterday, Mercedes-Benz says that will be applying a “coherent, status-oriented design” across all of its models, so customers can just choose which model they want, and then pick between different powertrain options, be it a fully electric vehicle (EV), a hybrid, or a car with an “electrified high-tech combustion engine” (ICE).
The “One-Bow” silhouette was designed primarily for aerodynamics, which contributed to the Mercedes-Benz EQS being one of the slipperiest car in production at launch. A more aerodynamic car does mean more range, which is especially important on EVs.
But while it has a technical advantage, the egg-shaped design just doesn’t shout “Mercedes-Benz”, and as a result, they also weren’t particularly popular amongst car buyers – how many of these do you really see on the road?
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The news really isn’t all that surprising, and has already been hinted by the marque when they unveiled the fully electric G580, which aside from a blanked out front grille, pretty much looks just like your regular G-wagen. The updated Mercedes-Benz EQS has also been given a more normal-looking Mercedes grille as part of its facelift update last year.
Moving forward, the first model to feature the shared design will be the next-generation Mercedes-Benz CLA, which will be available in both EV and ICE forms.
Mercedes-Benz will be hoping its new styling direction will help it reverse the course for its EV line-up. Last year, the company’s sales of EVs fell by some 23% to only 185,100 units. Comparatively, BMW – whose new EVs like the i5 and i7 mostly look identical to their ICE counterparts – alone saw an increase of 11.6% in EV sales, delivering 368,523 cars to its customers.
The Stuttgart-based carmaker has recently announced its plans for the “biggest ever launch campaign”, with dozens of models slated for debut by 2027.
