Mercedes-Benz GLC EV: New mid-size SUV gets modern twist on brand's classic face
The battery-electric version of the German premium brand's best-seller will debut at the Munich motor show (aka IAA Mobility) on September 7, 2025.
Mercedes-Benz has released a teaser image showing off its distinctive grille, and there are echoes of the grilles of classic models like the W126 S-Class – but with a catch.
While the chrome-surrounded grille has three rows with dozens of small square segments, reminiscent of Benzes of yore, it's closed-off and features integrated contour lighting and a 'smoked-glass-effect lattice structure'.
CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click here to get a great deal. Supplied Credit: CarExpert
Mercedes-Benz will also offer an illuminated version as an option, with 942 backlit dots and animation sequences.
The central star and the integrated surrounding contour of the panel are also illuminated.
The nod to the past is part of Mercedes-Benz's move away from the controversial design language employed on its Electric Vehicle Architecture-based EQE sedan, EQE SUV, EQS limousine and EQS SUV.
Mercedes-Benz has already facelifted the EQS in Europe, giving it a more conventional grille, and has paused deliveries of the quartet in the crucial US market due to slow sales. Supplied Credit: CarExpert
The company has said it's moving to a 'coherent design language' across its portfolio, with its EVs to more closely resemble their combustion-powered counterparts even if they use different platforms – a strategy rival BMW already employs.
As seen in spy photos and teasers, it appears to have a more rakish silhouette than the combustion-powered GLC, but is much more athletic-looking than the blobby EQE SUV.
Mercedes-Benz is also ditching its EQ nameplates, which is why this new mid-size electric SUV is called the GLC with EQ Technology instead of the EQC.
Inside, the electric GLC will feature an 'all-new, seamless' MBUX Hyperscreen that will see the vehicle's screens under one layer of glass. Supplied Credit: CarExpert
It's also the first model in a 'completely new family of vehicles' featuring MB.OS, a 'superbrain' that will power every new Mercedes-Benz.
The electric GLC will debut the brand's new MB.EA dedicated electric vehicle (EV) architecture, and rides a wheelbase 129mm longer than the combustion-powered GLC – so just over three metres.
It'll be offered in single-motor rear-wheel drive and dual-motor all-wheel drive configurations with system outputs of up to 500kW.
Batteries range from a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) unit that's likely to deliver a WLTP-rated range of just over 500km, to a 94.5kWh nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery that boosts WLTP range to more than 800km. Supplied Credit: CarExpert
This battery's highly efficient silicon carbide anodes and the 800V electrical architecture also allow charge rates of up to 320kW, which mean it can be topped up to give 400km more range in as little as 15 minutes.
A prototype we drove in Sweden earlier this year was reasonably close to what is likely to be the top-spec, non-AMG GLC 4Matic with EQ Technology.
Its dual-motor powertrain had a system output of 360kW, a two-speed transmission, the 94.5kWh battery, air suspension, and rear-wheel steering.
MORE: 2026 Mercedes-Benz GLC with EQ Technology: Prototype drive
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