Despite softer overall sales, Mercedes-Benz remains strong in China’s high-end segments. Following BMW, Mercedes-Benz has also adjusted pricing on parts of its lineup. On February 2, the company announced official price cuts for selected variants of the C-Class, GLB, GLC and GLC Coupe in China, with overall reductions of around 10% and a maximum cut of RMB 69,020 ($9,936). Price cuts of Mercedes-Benz GLC China’s internal combustion vehicle market has broadly entered a phase of “de-premiumization,” and luxury brands are no exception. Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Porsche have all seen the high pricing power once sustained by brand strength come under pressure, amid the rise of new energy vehicles, more rational consumer behavior and changes in sales models. Against this backdrop, several traditional premium brands have already moved to adjust their strategies. Models such as the Volvo XC90 and Audi E5 Sportback, both launched last year, have since undergone price adjustments that directly reflect end-user discounts in their official pricing. More recently, the all-electric Mercedes-Benz CLA was launched with a nationwide fixed price range of RMB 249,000 to RMB 299,900 ($36,000 to $43,000). This marked the first time Mercedes-Benz adopted a unified, non-negotiable pricing strategy for a model in China. In terms of market impact, the pricing of the electric CLA not only broke with Mercedes-Benz’s traditional approach but also helped, to some extent, challenge the long-standing pattern of “high price, low volume” for luxury-brand electric vehicles. Mercedes-Benz CLA Notably, the price adjustments have not undermined Mercedes-Benz’s core position in the high-end segment. In 2025, the company delivered 575,000 vehicles in China, down 19% year-on-year, but it retained leadership in the core luxury market priced above RMB 400,000 ($56,000) and in the ultra-luxury segment above RMB 1,000,000 ($140,000). Within this range, annual deliveries of the Mercedes-Maybach GLS SUV rose by nearly 14% year-on-year, while the Maybach line and the G-Class continued to serve as key profit pillars at the top end of the portfolio. Mercedes-Maybach GLS SUV At the same time, Mercedes-Benz is reinforcing its premium positioning through product and technology upgrades. The new-generation S-Class, the all-electric GLC and the locally produced long-wheelbase GLE are being rolled out in sequence. On the software side, the company plans to enhance the overall user experience through continuous over-the-air updates based on MB.OS starting in 2026. Looking back at 2025, China’s luxury car market faced mounting pressure. The market share of vehicles priced above RMB 400,000 and those in the RMB 300,000–400,000 range fell to 5.2% and 8.4%, respectively. Competition in the RMB 200,000–400,000 segment has intensified, as new entrants rapidly capture share. Overall, Mercedes-Benz’s latest official price cuts are not simply a short-term concession. Rather, they reflect a broader effort to reassess the Chinese market and recalibrate the relationship between pricing and product positioning.
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