Mercedes Designer Sounds The Alarm: 'Nobody Is Buying' Wagons Anymore

Weakening demand for wagons is making Mercedes hesitant to greenlight a long-roof C-Class EV.

Mercedes-AMG CLS 63 S Shooting Brake

Photo by: Mercedes-Benz

Adrian Padeanu

By: Adrian Padeanu

Apr 21, at 2:16am ET

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The Breakdown

Mercedes doesn't see enough demand to warrant a C-Class EV wagon.
Head of Exterior Design, Robert Lešnik, bluntly declares: "Nobody is buying them."
Designers and journalists appreciate wagons, but that's not enough.

A few years ago, wild rumors alleged Mercedes would get rid of all wagons by the end of the decade to focus on higher-volume products. According to reports, the CLA Shooting Brake, C-Class Estate, and the E-Class Estate are the last of the long-roof breed. Although there has been no official confirmation from Stuttgart, the company’s Head of Exterior Design is now painting a grim picture.

Speaking with Autocar, Robert Lešnik revealed that car designers and journalists appreciate wagons, but the reality Mercedes is seeing is that “nobody is buying them” anymore. Consequently, the German luxury brand is reluctant to approve for production a more practical take on the electric C-Class sedan revealed this week.

'We have three regions. Nobody is buying them in America; we tried the shooting brake [version] of the CLS and nobody bought it. The Chinese don’t understand them and don’t buy them. Then Europe is left, and if you look at a Mercedes E-Class, it’s pretty expensive – so who can actually buy a car like that in Europe?'

2025 Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake

Photo by: Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes still sells a C-Class Estate with combustion engines and is about to give the “S206” a mid-cycle facelift, meaning it will continue for several years to come. Additionally, the new CLA Shooting Brake is available with both ICE and EV powertrains, while the larger E-Class is not going anywhere for the time being. The gorgeous CLS Shooting Brake is now, sadly, only a distant memory, but it’s unrealistic to expect a carmaker to sell so many wagons.

Looking at what the competition is doing, BMW has recently teased an i3 Touring that would directly compete with an electric C-Class wagon if the three-pointed star were to build one. Then again, Munich doesn’t have a rival for the CLA Shooting Brake, so it needs a model that’s smaller and more affordable than the 5 Series/i5 Touring. BMW is open to building another 3 Series wagon with combustion engines, but it hasn’t made any commitments yet.

The electric C-Class is considered the nameplate’s sixth generation, and if a wagon won’t follow, it would be the first of its kind to skip the body style. Ever since the “S202” debuted in the mid-1990s, Mercedes has offered an estate version. The Slovenian car designer would love to keep the wagon flame alive, but demand just isn’t there anymore. His favorite Mercedes? Today's “almost perfect” E-Class Estate.

Mercedes-Benz C-Class All-Terrain

Mercedes-Benz C-Class All-Terrain Exterior

Motor1's Take: Even without an electric C-Class Estate, Mercedes still has plenty of wagons in its vast portfolio. It’s unclear how many will live to see another generation, but it’s hard to imagine all of them disappearing by 2030. Perhaps a sensible solution would be to merge models, in the same vein as the two-door C-Class and E-Class evolved into the CLE Coupe/Convertible.

What do you think?

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Comments

Wagons are victims of the SUV boom, and volumes speak louder than the words of appreciation from journalists, designers, and enthusiasts. Mercedes sees fit to focus on the GLC to the detriment of an electric C-Class Estate, but at least the gas-powered version is still around.

This lifted C-Class All-Terrain is just as versatile as the GLC, and it’s definitely the one I’d pick. Yes, I am privileged to be living in Europe, where wagons are still in demand.

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