Mercedes electric and ICE cars will not be differentiated by design

Mercedes-Benz will not differentiate between its electric cars and combustion-engine models when it comes to design going forward. On the sidelines of the 2026 S-Class facelift’s unveil, Mathias Geisen, member of the board of management at Mercedes-Benz Group AG and head of the sales and customer experience division, said, “Both our ICE and EV models would share the same design.” 

1. Customer demand shaped Mercedes EV plans
2. EV is the future, says Mercedes global sales head

Future Mercedes cars’ design

In the past, Mercedes differentiated its ICE and EV products, such as the S-Class and the EQS, even in terms of design, unlike the BMW 7 Series and the i7. Geisen admitted, “Our customer today wants that typical Mercedes style irrespective of the powertrains.”

The global sales head’s words echo those of Mercedes’s chief design officer, Gorden Wagener, who said, “Right now, the S-Class segment is still dominated by ICE,” hinting at the time that the brand could go back to more traditional design cues. 

While Geisen acknowledges that Mercedes did overestimate the switch to EVs, he affirmed, “EV is the future. But it is hard to predict its arrival.”