Mercedes is reducing production of its current gas-powered flagship S-Class sedan due to low demand, and sales of the all-electric equivalent EQS aren’t what anyone in Stuttgart hoped for. The former looks a lot like the “old” version it replaces, and the pill-shaped EQS is so anonymous it has failed to leave much of an impression on luxury EV intenders. Things will change, or rather go back to the old ways of doing things, for the next generation of gas and electric Mercedes flagship sedans, according to a new report from Autocar.
The company has scrapped plans to move on from a gas version of the Mercedes-Benz flagship sedan, and now there are plans to refresh the current vehicle for a new generation alongside an electric model. Autocar reports that it “understands” the next-gen S-Class will attempt to look like one model but offer two or more powertrains, similar to the current BMW 7 Series lineup that also offers an electric i7 sedan. The gas powertrain will undergo enough changes to remain emissions compliant for regulations “well into the 2030s,” which likely means hybrid or plug-in hybrid versions.
Unlike the 7 Series, though, Autocar reports the eighth-gen S-Class will ride on two platforms: the already in-motion MB.EA Large platform (which was reportedly cancelled back in May but is now clearly still in development) will underpin the electric S-Class, and the current gas platform will carry on in some form. However, both will likely look much closer to each other in design this time around. Perhaps it is now clear that people want the electric S-Class to still look like an S-Class.
Since this is the route the S-Class is taking going forward, Autocar predicts the E-Class and EQE models will align under more similar styling for their next generations as well, which would make sense. Considering there are still plans for a technical overhaul of the EQS next year, and a refresh of the S-Class for 2026, we don’t expect to see eighth-gen S-Class or seventh-gen E-Class models until 2028 or later.
