Mercedes-Benz EQS "sluggish, failed" because it doesn't suit users?

Mercedes-Benz has recently admitted that its premium electric car, the Mercedes-EQS, has not met market expectations, mainly due to its futuristic design and its launch ahead of consumer demand. The company's design director, Gorden Wagener, told Autocar that the EQS "came 10 years too early", leaving many customers unprepared for its aerodynamic teardrop shape, which prioritizes energy efficiency over traditional luxury.

Despite its diamond-patterned grille and three-pointed star headlights, the EQS still fails to connect with a customer base accustomed to the powerful, classy styling of the S-Class. “The EQS is a completely different car, not developed as a chauffeured luxury sedan,” Wagener admits.

Changing the way electric vehicle marketing and design strategies are implemented

According to Wagener, the EQS should have been marketed as a future version of the CLS or as an S-Class Coupe, rather than as a direct successor to the S-Class. He also believes that today's customers still see electric vehicles (EVs) as electronic devices, while internal combustion engines still have a sense of sustainability and symbolic value, like a high-end mechanical chronograph watch.

In previous statements to ABC News, Wagener has defended the EQ's design language as a pioneering and strategic move, but he has also acknowledged that barriers to market perception have kept the EQS from achieving the level of popularity that was hoped for.

Learn from experience, change product strategy

Responding to market feedback, Mercedes is reshaping its design and product strategy, no longer separating the EQ electric car line from its traditional lines. Instead, the company will develop a consistent design language for both electric and internal combustion engine vehicles.

Typically, the new generation of the Mercedes-Benz CLA 2025, whether electric or gasoline, has an almost identical design. The upcoming electric GLC model will no longer be called EQC, but will be integrated into the standard GLC line. Previously, the pure electric G-Class also applied this strategy when using the name "G580 with EQ Technology" instead of EQG.

The future of the S-Class and EQS, ditch the EQ

The next-generation S-Class is also planned to have an all-electric variant, replacing the EQS entirely in the long term. However, this won’t happen anytime soon, as a facelift for the current S-Class is scheduled for 2026, and another upgrade is also in the works, including headlights with a three-pointed star motif similar to the new CLA.

Meanwhile, the EQS will continue to be maintained for a few more years with a further upgrade, showing that Mercedes has not completely abandoned this model. However, the company has learned valuable lessons from its mistakes in design and brand strategy, to reshape the direction of future electric vehicles, closer, more accessible, and more in line with the expectations of global consumers.

Source: https://khoahocdoisong.vn/mercedes-benz-eqs-e-am-that-bai-vi-khong-hop-nguoi-dung-post1552379.html