There is something for everyone next year from Mercedes-Benz, as seen from the firm's 2019 product launch plan placed discreetly in a seemingly boring sales report.
The report we mentioned is an otherwise bland discourse detailing Mercedes-Benz's January-September 2018 sales and earnings. One of the pages of the report, it turns out, is a gold mine revealing the company's future plans. The chart not only shows the already revealed B-Class, the first-ever all-electric Merc EQC and eSprinter, but also forthcoming cars like the next-generation CLA along with its CLA Shooting Brake derivative.
Judging by how the thumbnails of the cars are positioned on the chart, we can expect the CLA to be introduced in the first half of 2019 while the Shooting Brake will make itself visible in the third or fourth quarter of the year. Both the cars have been spotted undergoing test runs multiple times already.
Next up are the SUVs. The Mercedes-Benz GLC and GLC Coupe will receive mid-cycle refreshes for the 2019 model year, hitting the streets in the first half of the same year. The Mercedes-Benz GLS full-size SUV will follow up a few months later, taking the battle to the recently introduced BMW X7.
The next Merc only listed as a 'Compact Car' is probably the first-ever GLB. A compact, boxy crossover evoking the spirit of the erstwhile GLK, the new high-riding model will combine the ruggedness of the G-Wagon with all the good things about the A-Class hatchback and sedan. It is as yet unclear whether it will replace or sell alongside the GLA. Which brings us to the conspicuous absence of the Mercedes-Benz GLA. We will have to wait until a least until 2020 to see what the firm has in store for the entry-level crossover.
In July 2016, a similar product roadmap had shown a GLA coupe, but it was taken down just a few days later. Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche had hinted in an interview with Top Gear magazine earlier in 2018 that a more stylish version of the GLA could be in the works to take on the BMW X2.
Another car earmarked for an early 2019 reveal is the V-Class luxury van. It will most likely be a refreshed variant of the current model considering the latter was launched just four years ago. 2019 is already shaping up to be full of a bunch of new cars, and each one of them has piqued our interest.