STUTTGART - Last week Mercedes-Benz pulled the covers off its advanced new S-Class, featuring an elegant new look and a dazzling array of features, and now it appears that the next-generation C-Class will inherit a lot of its bigger brother’s style and tech.
The picture that you see here, posted on Instagram by cochespias, appears to be the new 2021 C-Class, and this is the first time that we’re seeing it undisguised. As with the latest E-Class and S-Class models, the redesigned C-Class features a larger grille and shapelier headlights.
Although Mercedes-Benz hasn’t disclosed any details about the 2021 C-Class, Australian website Carsguide recently shed some light on the upcoming sedan after speaking to Mercedes boss Ola Kaellenius.
Kaellenius implied that the new C-Class would be like a mini S-Class in more ways than one, and also hinted that it could come with some of its own innovations.
“Back in the day, many years ago now, the logic at Mercedes was ‘we got it in the S-Class’ – that happens every seven or eight years - and then we have a gradual trickle down,” he told Carsguide.
“We’ve already departed from this philosophy, I would say, in the last five to seven years. We have switched to say every single new architecture or major model gets innovation.”
Kaellenius also explained that the company has developed an engineering system that allows it to “trickle up and trickle down quickly”.
Second-generation MBUX infotainment
The Mercedes boss didn’t specify which of the new S-Class model’s features would trickle down to the C-Class, but it is likely that the second-generation MBUX infotainment system will find its way into the smaller sedan.
Sporting 50 percent more computing power than before, the new MBUX also uses cameras to monitor things like hand movements and body language to anticipate the intentions of its occupants. The new S is also offered with an advanced head-up display system that can show augmented reality content.
2021 Mercedes C-Class Interior To Feature Dual-Screen Layout | Carscoops #carscoops https://t.co/2uCph7ViSi
— Carscoops (@Carscoop) August 23, 2019
The engine line-up remains a mystery for now, but it has been widely speculated that the AMG versions will downsize to four-cylinder engines, and given the times we’re living in you can expect a wide range of hybrid versions to be offered too.
Built in SA for export
Like the current model, the new-generation C-Class will be built at the company’s East London plant for both local consumption and export.
This forms part of a R10 billion investment that was announced back in 2018, which will also see the construction of new body and paint shops as well as an upgraded assembly shop.
The new body shop will have a higher capacity, while the assembly shop will get three new lines, meaning that higher production volumes are likely. Prior to the Covid-19 crisis MBSA was exporting around 10 000 C-Class cars a month, however, last month the local division exported 4400 units.