Nothing sums up the rapidly changing trends in the Australian new car market than Mercedes-Benz Australia’s view of plug-in hybrids.
In the middle of 2023 the German luxury brand declared plug-in hybrid (PHEVs) weren’t suitable for its buyers and dropped the options it had in favour of its all-electric models. Fast forward to today and the brand is set to introduce a pair of new PHEV models in the near-future.
Mercedes had previously expressed concerns its plug-ins weren’t being charged regularly by owners and therefore they weren’t seeing the benefits, preferring instead to either stick with an internal combustion engine model or commit to charging an EV. However, PHEV sales are up more than 129 per cent year-to-date according to the July sales figures, with both improved technology and greater customer understanding driving this growth.
Speaking to CarsGuide, Mercedes Australia boss Jaime Cohen said the brand’s customers are once again looking for PHEVs.
“They are,” Cohen said. “In the beginning there was, and I saw that in other countries, a little bit of a question mark of ‘what is this really?’ But as the consumer becomes more ecologically minded and really would like to go towards an option that pollutes less, they would like an electric [vehicle] but the infrastructure is not quite there.
“This is a nice step to do that. Be more concerned with the environment, to protect it, but we have the peace-of-mind that if I'm in a place where it's only different charges, I can feel comfortable. So the plug-in hybrid keeps that.”
Asked if that means the brand will introduce PHEV offerings, Cohen said it will happen but cautioned it wouldn’t be an extensive range as he was trying to avoid too much complexity across the local line-up.
“We're looking at that again through the mentality of what we were discussing [earlier], complexity [of the model range],” he explained. “Do we have enough volume demand to then bring it? I think we're looking at one or two models already. But we will not go crazy on just doing everything because that's not the way we do it.”
While Cohen nor anyone else at Mercedes Australia wouldn’t reveal which models are headed our way the most likely candidates are the popular C-Class and GLC-Class models. The C350e is a likely option, the recently updated model features a 230kW/550Nm powertrain capable of driving up to 117km on its batteries, while the GLC350e features a similar powertrain and claimed range.
There’s no confirmation of either model yet, but don’t be surprised to see both enter Australian showrooms by the end of 2025 as local motorists look for an alternative to going fully electric.
