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Mercedes has decided to delay both the E-class cabrio and wagon.

The Mercedes E-class cabrio was due to be launched in Frankfurt this October, but has been delayed until the Geneva motor show in March 2010, according to reports from Germany.

The Mercedes E-class estate, which was originally earmarked for launch later this year, has now been put back to 2012.

The delays to the E-class cabrio and estate – which has been described by a Mercedes insider as a more design-orientat...Read the full article

I see this as highly unlikely -  2012!? The Estate forms a large proportion of E-class sales. Pushing this back 2-3 years must be a blow when those who need the practicality without the compromise of an SUV turn to Tourings and Avants.
I have previously mentioned the idea of a small diesel S-class. Living and working in central London where things are a dime a dozen, most used exclusively in zone 1, it always struck me as somewhat ridiculous to see numberous 600's with their little V12 badges on their flanks standing still, engines running while waiting...

The E-class estate always sold well because it was a proper estate - a great big, roomy estate.  Mercedes may come to regret joining the "lifestyle estate" bandwagon (pun intended).  There are plenty of offerings in that arena already, including Mercedes' own C-class estate.

I agree with both of the above posts - surely the E-Class estate is responsible for more sales than the CLS?

The decision to move away from the practical load lugger and towards the shooting brake may also cost them heavily. 

Audi Tastic:

The decision to move away from the practical load lugger and towards the shooting brake may also cost them heavily.

 

Perhaps they have another large estate in the wings? Or are they trying to push people to the R-Class? *shudder*

At least with the new estate delayed people will be able to get a proper merc estate until 2012!

So what proper, large estates would that leave? V70 is still very capable, but much smaller than the E-Class now. The Honda Accord Tourer went tiny... Mondeo estate is huge, but few Merc owners will go that route. What's the A6 avant like space wise?

hmmmm I was looking forward to the new E-class convertible.

A 4-cylinder S-Class??!! Now i've heard it all!!

I'm prepared to believe the information about the other variants being delayed but in the case of the estate I just can't see Mercedes delaying a car that was supposedly ready to go this year (i.e. the whole thing will have been finalised and tooled up) for three years. This seems utter blx to me - assuming the original info about a launch this year was correct at the time.

 In the current economic climate I think this is quite a clever decision for the following reasons:

• The E Class saloon failed to beat the 6 year old BMW 5 Series in recent reviews, which doesn't bode well for the estate, considering it's current popularity, so maybe they've gone back to improve it, and possibly consider a new model to rival the 5 Series GT;
  
• By extending the life of the current platform, it increases profit per unit, much like keeping a car for 3 years is expensive because depreciation, yet the next 3 are much cheaper;
  
• The E Class isn't a cheap car, and the executive sector has struggled hugely in recent months, so releasing it now would put pressure on the factory concerned immediately because of low sales; there'd be little return for investment in the factory machines required;
• By releasing cars when they feel the economy has picked up there sales will be higher, meaning thast a profit is turned on the platform quicker.

On the other hand, I think the current E Class is in desperate need of replacement, as could've been argued as soon as it came out.

 Also I think it'd make sense to put smaller engines in the current CLK, and put the price down a little, as this is apparerntly their plan for a few years time (to release a C Class based coupe, again named CLK) as it seems to compete with a slightly different market to the E Class Coupe, as the latter seems aimed at a higher market position.

 

Lanehogger:

A 4-cylinder S-Class??!! Now i've heard it all!!

 

It's just like Volvo using a 1.6d for the S80. Madness.. 0-60 in 10 seconds, unless they put 2 turbo-chargers on.

Following a recent spin in a new E250cdi, I popped into MB Brooklands to see if they had any literature and price lists and there was an MB marketing chap giving a presentation on the new E-class. Following the presentation I went up to find out whether he had driven the car and if so what engines, specifically the E350cdi. It transpires that he had driven all the engines extensively at the launch event in Majorca, where he also drove the coupe and sat in but didn't get drive the new estate. A sales chap subsequently joined the conversation and he had also been to the launch and confirmed the range of vehicles. It would therefore seem very peculiarly that the estate would be presented to dealers and marketing at the launch only to be held back for such a lengthy period. From all I read, off the back of mostly favourable reviews I guess, the new saloon looks on course to reclaim the number one sales spot from the Audi A6, and if there is a delay, perhaps the sales figures were greater than expected and have led to a shortfall of engines.

The 4 cylinder S-class sounds unlikely as the 250cdi, though probably powerful enough, has a noise level somewhere in between the 520d and the 525d, which I suspect would hardly be refined enough for this level.

Could be wrong, but to my eyes the entire report reads like a late April fools.

jdevlin:

Could be wrong, but to my eyes the entire report reads like a late April fools.

roadtester:

This seems utter blx to me - assuming the original info about a launch this year was correct at the time."

Well, this has almost certainly been written by an utter fool and is certainly blx. The author has confused the proposed 'shooting brake' variant of the new E-class with the Estate version. The Estate is due to be launched as planned later this year - undisguised, final mileage testing examples are already running around Germany. The shooting brake has been put back due to the need to concentrate on maximising day-to-day business returns in this crisis. The E-class Cabriolet has had its launch delayed from the Frankfurt Motor Show in September this year to Geneva next year, so as to better coincide with peak demand time for cabriolets. That is all. Was this writer's forebear the man who misheard the command "send reinforcements, we're doing to advance" as "send two and sixpence, we're going to a dance"? At least in peacetime clots like this can't do real damage - except to Mercedes-Benz's perceived launch plan competence.