The Mercedes GLC has now largely supplanted the C-Class
- The various generations of the Mercedes C-Class (D-segment sedan) have consistently been among the brand’s best-sellers, at least in Europe, until the mid-2010s. From 2015 onwards, the launch of the Mercedes GLC SUV (based on the C-Class) took an increasingly large share of the brand’s European sales, competing the C-Class. As with many carmakers, the sedan customer base gradually shifted to SUVs, and sales of the GLC eventually overtook those of the C-Class in Europe in 2018.
- In addition, exports of the C-Class to China have gradually declined as they have been replaced by local production. The gap in sales and production between the GLC and the C-Class has continued to grow in Europe ever since. From 25,000 units in 2018, it rose to 47,000 in 2019, 70,000 in 2020 and 110,000 in 2023.
- In 2023, only 77,000 C-Classes were produced in Europe (in Bremen, Germany) while the production of the GLC (in the same factory) reached 187,000 units. In 2024, there is no upheaval in terms of production. As a result, the replacement of the C-Class planned for 2028 becomes problematic.
- The launch of the EQC in 2019, which is the battery electric version of the GLC, has not really moved the lines. In low demand (it will never exceed 20,000 units per year), the EQC is definitively abandoned at the end of 2023. It should be replaced in 2026 by two different EQCs (a sedan and an SUV). As for the Mercedes GLC, it has become the brand's most produced model in Europe since 2022.