Stopping the BuckSince 2024, Mercedes-Benz has experienced a slow but steady decline in sales. It dipped by 4 percent that year and fell by another 9 percent in 2025. Not wanting to see those numbers reach double-digits, the company is changing its strategy yet again.The solution? Appeal to the masses by going for the 'mainstream premium' crowd. Granted, Mercedes-Benz was always mainstream, but according to Car Magazine, the company nearly abandoned the entry-level luxury market. Back in 2022, Mercedes-Benz aimed to increase profits by focusing more on the upper market and eventually discontinued its more affordable offerings. That plan had not panned out, hence, a change of direction. Factors That Ate Up ProfitsMind you, Mercedes-Benz is still a profitable automaker, but the low-volume, high-profit strategy backfired on the brand due to various circumstances. It was hit the most last year with the announcement of the tariffs in key markets. The company ended up with a bill costing approximately €1 billion to cover that alone.Compounding the problem is China. As local automakers level up, legacy brands over there have suffered heavily. Mercedes-Benz's sales in China dropped by a worrying 19 percent as more Chinese models that offer a lot more car for a lot less money.Then there's the failed gamble of the early EQ electric models, along with the EV market's cooling in recent years. It had forced Mercedes-Benz to rethink its electrification strategy at high cost. With that in mind, Mercedes-Benz needs to sell more cars to make up for a tough 2025. The GoalMercedes wants to return to 2019 sales levels. At that time, it sold 2.3 million vehicles worldwide, but in the last few years, figures have been below that. The company wants to, at the very least, be able to sell 2 million cars again within the next five years. It also wants margins up by 10 percent as part of its mid-term goals.The next-generation A-Class will be key to the brand's volume and profit strategy. It was supposed to be discontinued by the current generation's life cycle, but the company has committed to an all-new generation that will be revealed by 2028. The compact hatchback class is still huge in Europe, and the A-Class has (and still is) done well against the Audi A3 and BMW 1 Series. The A-Class isn't the best-selling Mercedes-Benz model in Europe, but when you add up sales, it's still a vital model.Mercedes can also count on the heavily facelifted C-Class for the 2027 model year. It's been a consistently strong sales performer for over 30 years, and the release of the new model will be just in time as its rival from Munich prepares the next-gen 3 Series. Healthy profits are also to be expected from the S-Class, while the CLA and GLB should help boost sales volumes. The 2 million sales goal won't be easy amid the competition and other external factors, but the barrage of upcoming models came in at the right time.