Mercedes-Benz is rethinking its approach to new technologies. The company has broadly announced one major strategy change and quietly hinted at another that could reshape what Benz loyalists expect from their brand of choice.
Dropping Two-Lineup Approach, EQ Names
The louder change came in a recent presentation to investors. “Going forward, a coherent design language will be used across the entire portfolio,” the company announced.
Under a strategy announced in 2021, Mercedes split its lineup in two. It offered one electric and one gas-powered vehicle in most market segments, with the electric version using an “EQ” naming scheme.
Shoppers could choose from a gas-powered E-Class or an all-electric EQE, for instance. The two were similar in size and feature content but looked entirely different.
Mercedes’ electric vehicles (EVs) took on a curvier look, both to set them apart and to give them better aerodynamics, which improves EV range. But critics derided the “jelly bean” look. We could never shake the impression that an EQE looked like an overinflated E-Class you could pop with a pin. The new naming scheme robbed EVs of some of the prestige associated with the brand’s historical nameplates.
Now, Mercedes says, the distinction will go away.
Mercedes announced plans to drop the EQ naming scheme last year. Now, executives clarified, the EQ designs will go away with the EQ names.
Instead, buyers will be able to choose gas- or electric-powered drivetrains with identical body styles. That will allow “a consistent customer experience as well as best-in-class roominess and perfect proportions while keeping a tight grip on costs and manufacturing flexibility.” It will also let EV buyers buy the E-Class they always wanted.
Electric models will instead have the phrase “with EQ Technology” appended to the end of their names. An E-Class will be a gas-powered car, and an E-Class with EQ Technology will be an EV.
“Screens Are Not Luxury”
The second change was not included in any press release. However, it represents a philosophical shift among Mercedes designers and could reshape the way a Mercedes feels in the long run.
Every automaker has one lead designer — a visionary who controls how its designers work and the ethos of the products they create. For Mercedes, it’s Chief Design Officer Gorden Wagener.
Wagener gave an interview to ABC News this week in which he showed a change of heart about interior design.
“Screens are not luxury,” Wagener said. “We have to create luxury beyond the screen. That’s why I talk about craftsmanship and sophistication.”
This is shocking if you’re a longtime Mercedes loyalist. In recent years, Mercedes has leaned into the idea that screens are luxury more than perhaps any other automaker. In 2025, its signature feature is the “Hyperscreen,” a screen that takes the place of the entire dashboard in its highest-end cars.
The Hyperscreen and the related, slightly scaled-down Superscreen aren’t actually one enormous screen. They’re three separate screens: one for the driver, one for the passenger, and one in the center. The space between them is simply glass, not responsive to the touch. But even that glass is meaningful. Other brands give you three screens. Mercedes does that but wants you to think you have one cabin-spanning screen as if the epitome of luxury is a car that is all screen.
For the company that built it, concluding that it isn’t particularly luxurious is a genuine philosophical change.
Don’t expect big screens to disappear entirely from Mercedes products. Wagener told ABC News, “From the hardware side, it’s very good. From the software side, it hasn’t been that good.” To improve the experience, he says, “We’re working on content that is more specific and more entertaining.”
However, Mercedes was once a brand known for its focus on old-world luxury and craftsmanship. It may return to its roots as it realizes that multiple screens, now available on even mainstream cars, are not the way to convey a luxury feel.
The next generation of Mercedes designs will likely try to one-up rivals on quality, not quantity of glass.