Mercedes-Benz promises to be an active competitor for 202 registrations with hybrids and a number of significant new model arrivals in its expanded model range.
Two compact class SUVs – the GLA and GLB – both of which arrived in recent weeks, are likely to be strong contenders at the entry level.
The GLA comes with added interior spaciousness and boot volume among its key features. Notwithstanding its increased levels of specification and technical innovations, the new GLA will receive only a moderate increase on the outgoing model whose prices started at €38,800.
The second compact SUV – the attractively styled GLB – has among its features the option of a seven-seat version, the first Mercedes-Benz in its class to offer such a choice.
Pitched at families, the GLB can be purchased with a third fully retractable row of seats concealed beneath the luggage floor that can be raised to expand capacity to a seven-seat layout as required. Prices start at €42,350.
Other future SUV arrivals will include a new GLE coupé and GLS E-Class and S-Class. Other new arrivals will include two of the most important models in the Mercedes-Benz portfolio – a new updated E-Class, scheduled to arrive in July, and a new top-of-the-range S-Class, billed to make its appearance towards the year end.
As highlighted previously, a major focus over the coming six months and beyond will be the emergence of hybrids as a main plank in the Mercedes model story.
Describing the 2020/21 line-up as ‘the most inclusive and ecologically attuned’ range of models ever introduced by Mercedes-Benz, Ciaran Allen, sales manager for passenger cars in Ireland, says: "Coming is a range perfectly configured for those socially concerned owners who seek to future-proof their motoring requirements.”
The first hybrids to arrive here will be the E300de and the E300e saloon and estate models – both likely to be mainstays of the new updated E-Class model offering. In addition to these new models, buyers can expect to see hybrids occupy an increasingly significant place in Mercedes-Benz planning going forward. In this respect, the recently-established Mercedes EQ division is expected to introduce an impressive 16-strong line-up of hybrid vehicles – the new generation compact cars, the C-Class, GLC and GLE ranges among those predicted.
Describing them as "vehicles that deliver the best of all worlds" Allen says through the company's concentration on hybrids, Mercedes-Benz is poised to capture the growing world-wide demand for this technology among eco-conscious motorists.
