Why Mercedes-Benz Replaces E550 and ML550 with E400 and ML400?

If you follows Mercedes-Benz news, you may have already known that for the 2015 model year, there is no more “550” model for the E-class and M-class. Also gone with the E550/ML550 will be the 4.6L twin-turbo V8 engine. The replacement for the E550 and ML550 will be the E400 and ML400, respectively.

Mercedes-Benz_EClass

The E400 and ML400 will be powered by a 3.0L twin-turbo V6 engine, good for 329 hp and 354 lb-ft of torque. For the output numbers, this is a downgrade. For your reference, the V8 on the E550/ML550 has 402 hp and 443 lb-ft of torque.

Not only the 2015 E400/ML400 has lower power output than the 2014 E550/ML550, but the ML400 is even more expensive than the ML550. We do not have the 2015 E400 pricing at this moment, but for the M-class, the 2014 ML550 MSRP starts at $59,450; and the 2015 ML400 starts at $62,900. So basically speaking, you pay more to get less.

Mercedes-Benz_ML550

Despite any official explanations and excuses, this situation does in fact, conveys one message to us: Mercedes-Benz wants to raise its product’s price.

Mercedes-Benz wants to sell higher trims of the E-class and M-class for higher MSRPs. Obviously, it knows if it directly raises the E550/ML550 MSRP, consumers will simply refuse to buy those cars.

Therefore Mercedes uses this tactic: it deletes the E550/ML550, then introduces some new models which are “less powerful” than the E550/ML550, and keeps (or even raises a little bit of) the price. This move is less aggressive, so most consumers will accept the change. Then after one to two years later, Mercedes will re-introduce something equivalent to the current E550/ML550, and put much higher MSRP tags on them (Mercedes will say, since the new “550” model is more powerful than the “400” model, it is reasonable to charge a higher price), without causing consumer to complain.

Of course, at the time Mercedes revives the E550/ML550, the model number and naming will be changed. Remember in our previous report,  Mercedes is going to introduce the “AMG Sport” product line? Yes you are right: the deletion of the V8 E550/ML550 and the birth of AMG Sport models are not coincident, they are connections between this two events.

So according to our source, in the next one or two year, we will see AMG Sport trim for the E-class and M-class. Actually the AMG Sport trim is very likely to expand to most Mercedes models. Below are spy shots of the first AMG Sport model: the C450 AMG Sport.

One comment to Why Mercedes-Benz Replaces E550 and ML550 with E400 and ML400?

  • king  says:

    Yes…major bummer. Has to do something with tariffs in other countries being cheaper to introduce cars with the 3.0 model don’t know how true it is, but I hate to see the 550 badge leave on those models

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