(Motorsport-Total.com/Motor1) – A few years ago, wild rumors circulated that Mercedes wanted to remove all station wagons from its lineup by the end of the decade to focus more on high-volume products. According to reports, the CLA Shooting Brake, C-Class Estate, and E-Class Estate are to be the last representatives of the long-roof faction.
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This has not been officially confirmed from Stuttgart – but the head of exterior design is now painting a rather bleak picture. Because while we Germans love station wagons, we are relatively alone in this globally.
In an interview with Autocar, Robert Lešnik explained that while designers and journalists appreciate station wagons, the reality at Mercedes is that “nobody buys them anymore.” Accordingly, the brand is struggling to approve a more practical derivative of the electric C-Class sedan, unveiled this week, for series production.
Neither America nor China and Europe want them
‘We have three regions. In America, nobody buys them; we tried the Shooting Brake [version] of the CLS and nobody bought it. The Chinese don’t understand them and don’t buy them. Then there’s Europe – and if you look at a Mercedes E-Class, it’s quite expensive. So who in Europe can even afford such a car?’
Mercedes continues to sell the C-Class Estate with internal combustion engines and will soon give the “S206” a facelift for model maintenance – so it will remain in the program for several more years. In addition, the new CLA Shooting Brake is available with both internal combustion and purely electric powertrains, while the larger E-Class as an estate is also not yet up for discussion. The beautiful CLS Shooting Brake is unfortunately now just a memory, but realistically, one cannot expect a manufacturer to sell a particularly large number of station wagons.
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Photo gallery: Mercedes-AMG C 63 S E Performance
A look at the competition: BMW recently teased an i3 Touring, which would directly compete against an electric C-Class Estate – should the star build such a thing. On the other hand, Munich has no counterpart to the CLA Shooting Brake and would therefore need a model that is smaller and cheaper than the 5 Series/i5 Touring. BMW is generally open to another 3 Series Touring with internal combustion engines but has not yet made any commitments.
Currently still numerous station wagons in the portfolio
The electric C-Class is considered the sixth generation of the name, and if no estate follows, it would be the first time this body style is omitted. Since the debut of the S202 in the mid-1990s, Mercedes has always offered an Estate model in the series. The Slovenian car designer would like to keep the estate flame alive, but demand is apparently no longer there. His favorite Mercedes? Today’s “almost perfect” E-Class Estate.
Even without an electric C-Class Estate, Mercedes still has numerous station wagons in its extensive portfolio. How many of them will see another generation is unclear – but it’s hard to imagine that all of them will really disappear by 2030. An obvious solution could be to merge models – similar to how the two-door C- and E-Class evolved into the CLE Coupé/Cabriolet.
Station wagons are victims of the SUV boom; sales figures speak louder than the appreciation of journalists, designers, and fans. Mercedes prefers to focus on the GLC – at the expense of an electric C-Class Estate. At least the version with petrol and diesel engines remains in the program.
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