Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class News

Another year means another fleet of vehicles sent to the big scrapyard in the sky, with flagging sales, a change in company direction or, in one potential case, too much popularity, all contributing to the end of times for some of the country's most well-known nameplates – and a few of the lesser-known ones, too.

Mercedes-Benz has revealed the EQE all-electric luxury sedan which brings revolutionary styling changes and debuts on the brand’s EVA2 electric underpinnings.

Mercedes-Benz Australia has rationalised its CLS line-up, discontinuing the CLS450 grade to offer just the AMG CLS53 in facelifted form from 2022 onwards.Priced from $183,600 before on-road costs, the 2022 CLS53 is actually cheaper than the outgoing model

Mercedes-Benz has revealed the facelifted version of the third-generation CLS large sedan, with the coupe-style model due in Australian showrooms in the fourth quarter of this year

Mercedes-Benz Australia has recalled 3115 examples of the C-Class mid-size car, E-Class and CLS large cars, and GLC mid-size SUV over a potential issue with their seatbelts

Two variants of the 2018 Mercedes-Benz CLS and a flagship 2018 Mercedes-AMG CLS have been confirmed for an Australian launch in the second half of 2018.

Mercedes-Benz unveiled its third-generation CLS at the Los Angeles motor show overnight.

The current Mercedes-Benz E-Class and CLS-Class models are being recalled due to the possibility of an engine bay seal becoming damaged and coming into contact with hot engine bay components. The affected seal is located in the secondary bulkhead in the engine compartment, and could result in fire if it becomes loose.The recall affects just seven vehicles, which were sold in Australia between the start of April and May 2015.Mercedes-Benz will contact the owners of affected vehicles by mail, and the fault will be rectified free of charge.Related: What are car safety recalls all about? 

A refreshed Mercedes-Benz CLS has been captured by Carsguide's spy photographers during the car's testing in the icy weather of northern Europe, giving us a look at the styling tweaks that will give a mid-life update for the prestige four-door coupe four years after it first launched.The barely-camouflaged prototype caught on camera shows minor revisions are on the way for the front and rear fascia and the lights. The headlight clusters are getting new LED beams, now topped by restyled LED daytime running lights echoing the S-Class, while a mesh grille brings the nose styling draws closer to that of the A-Class and CLA-Class.Our spies say the cabin scores a redesigned steering wheel, plus a nearly iPad-sized larger COMAND display screen jutting upwards from the dash. The new CLS is likely to be unveiled later this year and arrive in Australia in 2015, followed by the Shooting Brake wagon version.While drivetrains are yet to be confirmed, they are are expected to continue with the 250 and 250CDi but tipped to echo the rationalisation of the E-Class by dropping the range-topping 500's V8 in favour of a V6-powered 400. Mercedes-Benz has just repositioned the current CLS line-up, slashing the CLS250 and CLS250 CDI by $5000, and the range-topping CLS500 by just over $50,000, while axing the mid-range CLS350 and CLS350 CDI.

The CLS-Class has been around for 10 years -- spearheading a decade ago the trend for 'four-door coupe' styling. And to mark its first double-digit birthday (and while we're waiting for the new one to arrive, likely next year) Mercedes is making some big changes to the line-up.The German prestige brand is adding in a package of new features, dropping the prices $5000 on the lower level models and more than $50,000 on the top sepc, but axing the CLS350 petrol and diesel models from the line-up.Named the Avantgarde 10, the new spec level builds on the existing Avantgarde features, but drops the price by $5000 on both the four-door Coupe and wagon Shooting Brake bodies, now available for $114,900 and $124,000 respectively -- plus on-road costs.The extra features include AMG body kit and five-spoke 19-inch alloy wheels, active-cornering adaptive LED headlights, electronically controlled Airmatic damping system, heated front seats, and a Harman Kardon Logic 7 surround sound system.The Avantgarde 10 treatment has also been given to the CLS500 four-door Coupe, with the price slashed $50,400 to make it now available for $159,900 plus on-roads. It also gets the Avantgarde 10 package with the additions of a digital radio tuner and the Easy-Pack quick-fold rear seat system.The price change on the CLS500 drops it to roughly the price of the axed models, with the petrol CLS350 having started at $158,700 and the CLS350 CDI at $159,200.Mercedes-Benz spokesman David McCarthy says the realignment adds considerable value to the anniversary models. "Customer value if the options are added on is $20,000 extra for the CLS250 and CLS250 CDI and about $45,000 for the CLS500," he says.The changes are a resounding shot fired at key German rivals. However McCarthy says the realignment is not prompted by any perceived threat to sales."It was an opportunity to give the the E-Class and CLS-Class a greater focus. We did really well with E-Class and CLS last year so the buyers are there, but we wanted to sharpen it," he says. "We think with this realignment you get the choice of luxury and the luxury of choice."One of the reasons we're taking the 350 out of the catalogue at this point is that E-Class and CLS buyers -- while they're not the same -- are in the same segment. So excluding the AMGs, you've now got an E-Class E200 that starts around $80,000, and then the range is now topped off by the CLS500 anniversary edition at $160,000."He points out a similar strategy was undertaken when rationalising the E-Class line-up. "When we dropped E500 from the E-Class range we replaced it with E400 -- same equipment, different engine, but again it was about a $50,000 drop."There are still a lot of customers out there that want a V8 other than an AMG, so we decided with the anniversary edition to make that vehicle much more affordable. We think there could be some E500 owners that really wanted a V8... well they've always had the choice of a CLS and we've now made it more accessible."However he emphasises that sales figures have not been a problem with either the E-Class or CLS-Class, which sold 1451 and 456 last year respectively, with the E-Class leading the segment against the BMW 5 Series on 1108."Obviously you always want to sell more. But this is not that we're seeing a problem in that segment -- we won that segment -- it's in response to what customers have been telling us and at the end of the day our job is to meet those expectations and give them what they want," McCarthy says.The new price of the CLS500 now makes it a much more attractive proposition than it's former $210,300 ask, with the Merc now about $70,000 less than the closest BMW rival, the 550i starting at $231,445"Our competitors could be a bit put-out by where we've priced the CLS500," McCarthy says. "But our role is to meet the customers' expectations and provide them with the best product and the best value. I'm not interested in giving our opposition a free kick or any sympathy. Now if that upsets another marque, well ... bah."The reality is we wanted to sharpen the range. And I think it really does -- to the extent that we feel pretty confident about how it's going to sell."2014 Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class pricesMercedes-Benz CLS250 CDI Avantgarde 10 $114,900 (-$5000)Mercedes-Benz CLS 250 CDI Shooting Brake Avantgarde 10 $124,000 (-$5000)Mercedes-Benz CLS500 Avantgarde 10 $159,900 (-$50,400)