- Mercedes’ jelly bean design for EVs is going away
- Many of Mercedes’ upcoming EVs will feature the same design as gas/hybrid models
- Mercedes has also reversed a decision to only sell its vans with electric powertrains
The era of Mercedes-Benz’s jelly bean design for electric vehicles is officially over.
During a financial results presentation on Thursday, the automaker announced that the design language for its future EVs will align more closely with that of its gas-powered models, which will increasingly adopt hybrid technology.
In many cases, the EV and gas versions will share identical designs—such as the G-Class, whose electric variant is visually the same as its gas-powered counterpart. The upcoming 2026 CLA-Class, previewed in camouflaged prototype form during the presentation, will also have a unified design across its electric and hybrid versions. The strategy has worked for BMW, which in 2024 sold 368,523 EVs, up 11.6% on the previous year. Mercedes’ EV sales in 2024 were 185,100 units, down 23%.
Additionally, Mercedes’ upcoming electric vans will now have gas-powered counterparts, marking a reversal of the company’s previous plan to offer vans exclusively as EVs. To facilitate this shift, Mercedes announced a new Van Combustion Architecture (VAN.CA), which will share about 70% of its components with the electric van platform, known as the Van.EA. This will enable both gas and electric vans to be built on the same production line.
Mercedes-Benz van architectures
The move isn’t entirely surprising, as Mercedes had already signaled plans to retire the EQ sub-brand it introduced for EVs. Current EQ models, such as the EQS and EQE, have distinct designs separate from Mercedes’ gas and hybrid cars.
Despite the unified design approach, Mercedes said its EVs will not lose their space advantages. Thanks to their skateboard-style platforms, EVs typically offer more efficient packaging than gas-powered models. And in some cases, gas/hybrid models will still use different platforms from their EV counterparts. For example, Mercedes will launch an electric C-Class sedan and electric GLC-Class crossover next year, both of which will use the MB.EA dedicated EV platform, while their gas-powered versions will continue on the older MRA platform.
As part of its efficiency push, Mercedes also announced that upcoming models will share a common technology stack—integrating software and hardware systems for key features such as infotainment and driver-assist technology.
This increased commonality between models will help streamline production, supporting Mercedes’ goal of reducing manufacturing costs by 10% by 2027.