No One Wants Mercedes EVs

US sales of the company's electric cars are down big time in the third quarter of 2024.

Photo by: Mercedes-Benz

Brian Silvestro

By: Brian Silvestro

Oct 10, 2024 at 11:20am ET

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Mercedes-Benz had another month of low sales for its electric vehicles.
Sales of the company's three EVs, the EQB, the EQE, and the EQS, fell by 42 percent versus the same quarter last year.
Despite the faltering EV division, sales for Mercedes are up 11 percent compared to Q3 2023.

Mercedes isn't having a great time with its lineup of electric vehicles. The company just reported US sales for the third quarter, revealing yet another three months of falling sales for the EQB, EQE, and EQS.

Sales of those three nameplates are down 42 percent for Q3 2024, from 9,984 cars sold last year in the same period to just 5,769 cars this year. Mercedes doesn't break down sales by body style, so we can't tell whether the SUV versions of the EQE and EQS are fairing any better than the sedans. Either way, things aren't great for the EQ brand.

This quarter was a bit different than Q2, when the smallest EV of the bunch, the EQB, got a healthy sales boost in springtime. Still, all three cars are down year-over-year, with the EQS being the worst offender, losing 50 percent of its sales in 2024 versus last year. Here's the full chart:

Model Line	Q3 2024	Q3 2023	Quarterly %	YTD 2024	YTD 2023	Yearly %
A-Class	-	6	-100%	3	74	-
C-Class	9,828	7,460	32%	27,257	24,734	10%
E-Class	3,427	6,944	-51%	11,473	13,926	-18%
S-Class	1,061	1,034	3%	5,846	8,187	-29%
G-Class	1,642	1,780	-8%	7,119	7,583	-6%
CLA	4,717	2,209	114%	8,312	7,905	5%
CLE	5,754	-	-	10,037	-	-
CLS	19	605	-97%	37	1,225	-
GLA	6,703	873	668%	13,449	10,938	23%
GLB	3,108	5,817	-47%	12,150	13,563	-10%
GLC	20,302	8,304	144%	46,407	28,693	62%
GLE	15,274	11,398	34%	46,150	43,083	7%
GLS	6,460	6,185	4%	20,707	17,846	16%
SL	233	1,195	-81%	1,085	3,344	-68%
GT	740	225	229%	2,492	1,765	41%
EQB	2,917	4,223	-31%	6,761	7,936	-15%
EQE	1,664	3,996	-58%	10,688	13,350	-20%
EQS	1,188	1,765	-33%	6,296	12,514	-50%
Vans	12,769	21,831	-42%	39,756	56,021	-29%
Total	97,806	85,850	11%	276,025	272,687	1%

Mercedes understands things didn't go as planned for its EVs. The company admitted earlier this year it was too enthusiastic about its electrification goals, before scrapping its planned large EV platform, originally set to debut in 2028. In May CEO Ola Kallenius confirmed it would pivot to a strategy similar to BMW's approach, offering EV and gas-powered versions of the next S-Class instead of a new EQS.

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Mercedes-Benz EVs weren't the only big losers this past quarter. The E-Class, just two years into its big refresh, is down 51 percent versus the same period last year. The SL convertible is having an even worse year, down a whopping 81 percent in that same time period.

Despite those loss leaders, total sales for Mercedes are up a healthy 11 percent versus Q3 2023, thanks mostly in part to the manufacturer's vast lineup of SUVs. The CLE two-door—an all-new model for this year—is another standout, having sold over 10,000 units so far in 2024. That's more than the S-Class, G-Class, or the affordable CLA. Who says coupes are dead?