Mercedes to Debut New Nomenclature at LA Auto Show
Mercedes’ plan to revamp its vehicle naming structure beginning with the M-Class SUV will begin next month at the L.A Auto Show.
The company hasn’t officially announced the changes yet, but according to a report by Motoring.com.au, the first transition will take place next month. Mercedes is expected to shift from referring to its mid-size SUV as the M-Class to the GLE. The move will bring it in line with the other utility vehicles currently being sold by Mercedes.
Aiming to compete more directly with BMW, the company is also planning to field a competitor to the coupe-styled X6 with a variant of the M-Class / GLE that will be called the GLE Coupe. By tacking an “E” on to the end of the nameplate, Mercedes hopes to align the vehicle with the E-Class sedan in its customer’s minds.
Similarly, the company is planning to re-name the comapct GLK comapct crossover as the GLC to stand more in line with the C-Class as will also be the case with the GL, which will be re-named the GLS to align with the S-Class.
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[Source: Motoring]
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They will reuse the CLS name for a C Class 4 door coupe and call the original the ELS. But what will they call the SLS if they repurpose the name for an A9 competitor.