No More Shooting Brake for the Next-Gen Mercedes-Benz CLS
Giancarlo Perlas July 23, 2015
The Mercedes-Benz CLS Shooting Brake enjoyed quite a following when it came into production in 2012. But a new report indicated that the bosses in Stuttgart are planning to discontinue the series.
According to the UK-based CAR, Mercedes is looking to drop the Shooting Brake variant of the CLS after releasing only one generation of the car. The source noted that the move was a part of the company’s cost-cutting measure.
Based on the report, the people inside the company have already come up with a design for a successor of the CLS Shooting Brake. It gained quite a fanfare within the three-pointed star firm, and was scheduled to be launched in 2018. But before further developments were made, the idea was dropped off.
The decision of the execs at Daimler was purportedly influenced by the lack of interest from the importers in North America and China. The slowing demand of China, which is by far the biggest luxury car market in the world, also had something to do with the move of the people within the company. Add to that the hiccups in the economy of Russia and the stagnation in the Middle East, and it will all make sense.
It should be noted that luxury automakers have taken advantage of the boom in China a few years back by expanding their lineups to cover every gap seen in the luxury car niche. The recent events in the region that have resulted to the drop in the demand for their products forced their hand to streamline their products though. Unfortunately for the fans of the Mercedes-Benz CLS Shooting Brake, the sleek station wagon will be one of the casualties.
