This Mercedes says goodbye forever, but no one will miss it

Okay, let’s nuance this headline: Hardly anyone will miss it. Because last year there were twenty-two Dutch people who bought one. They will be the last because Mercedes is done with this model, the CLS.

The first generation of the Mercedes CLS was launched in 2004 and basically established the four-door coupe segment. Competitors like Audi with the A5 Sportback and A7 Sportback and BMW with the 4 Series Gran Coupé and 5 Series Gran Turismo soon followed.

Mercedes stops completely with the CLS

With the popularity of such models, things are no longer so good. Audi has taken the A7 Sportback off the market in the Netherlands and Mercedes is discontinuing the CLS altogether.

The last cars will roll off the assembly line in August and there will be no successor. After all, Mercedes has the coupe-like EQE and EQS as all-electric alternatives.

Always a niche model in the Netherlands

For many people, the introduction of the first-generation CLS took a bit of getting used to. With its banana-shaped silhouette and severed butt, it certainly didn’t look like a traditional Mercedes.

In the Netherlands, the CLS was a real niche model with only 383 units sold in its best year (2005). The second generation reached 305 in 2011, but the current one never got past 71 units.

The model range is thinned out

Like those of Audi and BMW, the Mercedes model range has been bursting at the seams in recent years. The manufacturer is expected to thin out in the coming years. For example, various coupé SUVs are on the scrap list.