Mercedes-Benz GLC to introduce bold new grille for next-gen EVs

Mercedes will usher in an eye-catching new chrome grille design for its next generation of EVs at the Munich motor show in September.

The first vehicle to wear the new front end is the upcoming fully-electric GLC SUV, which will make its debut at the Bavarian event.

Effectively a successor to the EQC, the GLC will sit alongside the internal combustion-engined (ICE) version as the first of 15 all-new or updated Mercedes EVs scheduled to hit the market over the next two years. The GLC will also be the first Benz EV to not wear the dedicated ‘E’ prefix as it abandons dedicated model names for its EVs.

Mercedes says that the grille of its upcoming line of EVs will reflect the brand’s traditional taller, upright unit rather than the more recent downward-curved soap bar appearance of models such as the EQE and EQS EVs.

As EVs do not require cooling, Mercedes has decided to revert to the upright unit – albeit one reinvented as an illuminated panel. The version that will appear on the GLC will feature a chrome front perforated with 942 holes.

Behind the panel are more than 100 LEDs, which illuminate the grille in a number of customisable ways not dissimilar to the latest BMW iX or the previous Skoda Enyaq with its ‘Crystal Face’. The Mercedes three-pointed star is also illuminated, albeit the extent will be dictated by local regulations.

Mercedes chief, Ola Källenius, said the new grille design would allow Mercedes to maintain its identity “in current times with 100-plus Chinese firms” and others entering the EV market at a rapid rate. Källenius added that a return to a more traditional aesthetic will allow the Stuttgart carmaker to return to “the calling card of Mercedes, the unmistakeable Mercedesness” into the future.

As Mercedes seeks to merge the aesthetic of its EV and ICE offerings, it is also set to update the appearance of its latter models in coming years with the new grille, albeit adapted to their design language.