The body form of the station wagon has been the workhorse of Mercedes-Benz for decades, but with the popularity of SUVs and the corresponding shrinking of the sedan market, the situation began to worsen.
According to sources, the German automaker has lost confidence in the future of the station wagon and plans to end the production and sale of all its station wagons by 2030.
According to foreign media Automobilewoche, the first model to say goodbye will be clap Shooting Brake, which will disappear from Mercedes-Benz's lineup in 2025 and will not have a successor model. The medium and large E-Class will be Mercedes-Benz's last insistence, but with the replacement of the E-Class in 2030, the touring model will also disappear, and the replacement E-Class will not offer any wagon options.
That seems to be a performance of Mercedes seeking to streamline its product line – the German automaker has already invested heavily in electric vehicles. Obviously, this means a huge investment of money, and the newly developed multiple electric platforms will help it maintain its advantage in future market trends, and the wagon, which has gradually shrunk in the status quo, will obviously not be part of Mercedes's future plans.
In other words, Mercedes is also working on alternatives to please customers who are more practical – high-performance SUV/sedan fusion models may be one of the solutions. This high chassis, sedan-style model combines the practicality of an SUV with the shape of a sedan, and the raised body can better provide space for the battery, while also adapting to the increasingly exaggerated size needs of today's users.
This is actually quite shocking news; Porsche has successfully developed a station wagon variant called Cross Turismo for its first electric car, the Taycan; fans and customers are still obsessed with Audi's RS6 Avant; and Volvo, despite sales of XC60 SUVs exceeding the sales of V60/S60 and V90/S90/S90 combined, will continue to launch sedan and station wagon models in the future.
On an emotional level, even if the hot sales of SUVs are an indisputable fact, I believe that for many users and fans who are not so willing to drive too generously, a car company may sometimes be less down-to-earth.
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