Mercedes-benz CLS axed as coupe cull continues

AS Mercedes-benz shifts its investment focus to EVS, the German carmaker is looking at halving the number of body types that it offers, and coupes are largely in the firing line.

The latest to face the axe is the company’s original “four-door coupe”, the Mercedes CLS. As first reported by Car Expert, production of the premium saloon, which slots above the E-class, is set to end in August.

It appears the model has already been discontinued in South Africa as it no longer appears on the company’s local website.

Now in its third generation, the Mercedes CLS was launched in 2004 and it essentially started the “four-door coupe” craze that has now spread to the SUV realm.

While its original selling point was sleeker styling with a slight sacrifice in rear head room, it’s likely Mercedes considers the new E-class to be stylish enough to make the CLS obsolete.

Further down the line the Mercedes GLC and GLE “coupe SUVS” are also likely to be culled, Car and Driver reported earlier this year, although the former has just been renewed and will almost certainly stick around until the end of this generation.

Along with estate cars, the Mercedes two-door coupes – the real ones we hear you cry – are also in a phase of consolidation.

The S-class Coupe and Convertible are long gone, while the C-class and E-class two-door variants will be replaced by a new model, the CLE.

“We simply don’t need estate cars or under performing two-door offerings to boost volumes,” a senior executive at Mercedes told Car and Driver.

“The most essential elements of sustainable contemporary luxury cars are space and time… That’s our number one priority – not another fancy body style, a model that only works in Europe, or one last stab at a dying segment.”