The family cars, C-Class and E-Class, have been among Mercedes’ best sellers for a number of years. The latter is known to many as a good old taxi trotter.
Today the news broke, which will probably surprise many: 2023 will be the last year Mercedes will sell the legendary models in Norway, i.e. the E-Class and C-Class.
A number of other models, with fossil engines, also have their last sales year this year.
LEGEND: The E-Class has been with us since 1953. Now it will soon be the end of the model in Norway.
Cuts seven models
It is just over a year since the CEO of Mercedes-Benz AG, Ola Källenius, stated that Mercedes-Benz passenger cars are preparing to become fully electric by the end of the decade.
Now the Norwegian organization is accelerating the transition by phasing out a number of models with fossil powertrains.
Already this year, the compact models A- and B-Class, GLA, GLB and CLA, as well as the larger C- and E-Class, will disappear.
– Mercedes-Benz is seriously betting on the future and is speeding up the goal of becoming fully electric. Through more and more electric models, and concepts such as VISION EQXX, the engineers at Mercedes-Benz show that the future will also be able to offer ground-breaking models with an unprecedented range, says executive director Kjetil Myhre in Mercedes-Benz Norway, at the importer Bertel O. Steen.
Test Mercedes E-Class: This is a roll of the dice 6
MINSTEMANN: The A-Class is also entering its last year of sales in Norway.
Wide selection
From 2025, all new platforms from Mercedes-Benz will be electric, and customers will be able to choose an electric option for every model the company produces. There will be a dedicated architecture for compact passenger cars, one for medium to large passenger cars, one for high-performance models from AMG and one for light commercial vehicles.
MB.EA will cover all medium to large passenger cars and establish a scalable modular system as the electrical backbone for the future EV portfolio.
AMG.EA will be a dedicated electric vehicle performance platform addressing performance-oriented Mercedes-AMG customers.
VAN.EA ushers in a new era for purpose-built electric vans and light commercial vehicles that will contribute to emission-free transport.
New family race – but not sure it will come to Norway
THE FUTURE: It is electric, and Mercedes Norway takes that seriously.
The portfolio is growing
The electric portfolio of Mercedes-Benz is growing at a rapid pace, and already now customers can choose from a total of seven electric passenger car models. During the summer of 2023, we will be able to see yet another new model on Norwegian roads, namely the EQE SUV.
In 2021, the proportion of electric cars for Mercedes in Norway was 64 per cent, and in 2022 they account for a full 82 per cent of registrations, which shows that the highest proportion runs on electricity.
– Against the background of the objective of electrification from the factory’s side, it is natural that we in Norway are now accelerating our ambitions as we have a market that makes it possible. At the same time, it is important to remember that some people still need an alternative to all-electric. This particularly applies to those who want a certain size of car, and who use it over longer distances where the charging network is still not sufficient. That is why we are continuing, for example, the GLC SUV, which is now being launched as a plug-in hybrid with an electric range of a full 130 km, concludes Myhre.
We have driven the new Mercedes flagship EQS SUV
The flagship – you still get this with a diesel engine: