Mercedes-Benz to revise badge and engine nomenclature in 2015 to simplify range

Mercedes-Benz, it seems, is on a run to reinvent itself for the second decade of the 21st century. After updating a large part of its range over last 2-3 years, it has now decided to revise its badge and engine nomenclature from 2015 in a bid to simplify its range. Its core models, the A-Class, B-Class, C-Class, E-Class and S-Class will all continue to retain the traditional names while the other vehicles in the range will get new names connected to any one of these core models.  

First up, the SUVs - All the SUVs apart from the original G-Class will be changed. They will adapt the name GL and then be linked to the core model closest to them. The current GL-Class will become the GLS while the ML-Class will become the GLE. The ‘currently-not-sold-in-India’ GLK will become the GLC-Class. For the entry-level A-Class we have the GLA which was launched for the Indian market earlier this year. 

Its four-door coupes already use the name GLS and GLA denoting their core model connection. We believe that there will be at least one more four-door coupe in the future will is likely to be created for the E-Class and will be called the GLE. 

Finally, the two-door roadsters - the iconic SLK, which made the folding hardtop famous, will become the SLC while the SL-Class name will be retained as it is linked to the S-Class making it seem unlikely that Mercedes-Benz will want to call the car the SLS. At present, the final MFA car will be an estate based on the CLA but we believe that there will be a two-door roadster based on the A-Class in the future and it will be called the SLA. 

On the engine front- Natural Gas Drive will become ‘c’, BLUE TEC and CDI will be replaced by a ‘d’, PLUG-IN HYBRID and Electric Drive will be replaced by an ‘e’ though for the former it will also have ‘d’ depending on the model. Fuel Cell models will become an ‘f’ while HYBRID and BlueTec HYBRID will be replaced by ‘h’. Finally the 4MATIC moniker will continue as the same. 

This does sound a tad bit confusing and will initially have a lot of people scratching their heads, it is expected to become clear once the vehicles with these badges hit the roads . Just to be clear, the models will still have their numbers and this is something that many Mercedes-Benz enthusiasts will rejoice about.