This article is reposted from the WeChat official account “autocarweekly”

Author: Boss Wang

Observing every car exhibition in detail, there are always certain brands whose booths are always packed to the brim, with seats in their cars filled to capacity. It seems like everywhere is their home ground.

I believe that when I describe these brands, the first one that comes to your mind is Mercedes-Benz.

Once again, at this year’s Shanghai Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz, unsurprisingly, became the most dazzling three-pointed star among all exhibitors, as they brought their strongest lineup in the brand’s history.

Their slogan this time is: Charm of Magic City, “9” rears up!

The number 9 represents 3 global debuts, 3 China debuts and 3 models launched in China.

We can use these 9 models to understand Mercedes-Benz’s deep thoughts on the Chinese market.

This auto show, we can clearly feel the big trend is already shifting towards EVs, which is the pure electric market. Mercedes-Benz, for Chinese customers, also brought their first large luxury sedan based on the EVA platform —— the all-new EQS.

The all-new EQS is Mercedes-Benz’s first luxury car based on a large all-electric vehicle architecture (EVA) platform, making it a unicorn in this segment with no rivals. At first glance, you may have doubts about this latest flagship from Mercedes-Benz, which looks very different from the past. The long bonnet is gone and the overall design is more like a “single-box car.”

In fact, this is because Mercedes-Benz applied the latest “bow-shaped design” to the all-new EQS model, combined with the frameless doors and curved waistline design. This design ensures an elegant entry and exit, while also ensuring excellent visibility and headroom inside the car. This is an engineering skill that many novice carmakers lack. The simple, atmospheric and flowing design details give the car a drag coefficient as low as 0.20, breaking the world record for production car’s drag coefficient.

Without a doubt, this design will once again become the benchmark for design in the EV era, attracting followers from around the world.

Moving on to the interior, the most visually stunning is the full-scale curved OLED screen, which is over 141 cm wide —— the MBUX Hyperscreen. This screen’s power lies not only in its stunningly high resolution, but also in its Freeform flexible surface shape. The technical difficulty lies in the seamless integration with the two turbine-shaped air outlets, achieving a perfect fusion of mechanical aesthetics and digitization.

It’s all in the details, and in combination with the 3 personalized sound wave simulations produced by the Berliner Philharmoniker surround sound system, the EQS provides customers with the sound that should accompany the age of electric cars. As for the range, which is a big concern for electric cars, the new EQS exceeds 800 kilometers under CLTC test conditions.

So what kind of customers is the new EQS targeting for Mercedes-Benz?

According to Jan Madeja, President and CEO of Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales and Service Co., Ltd., “Although the new EQS and the S-Class sedan are two completely different flagships, with Mercedes-Benz’s pursuit of comfort, luxury, technology, safety, and high quality, the new EQS may attract customers who prefer the ‘S-Class’ experience. On the other hand, this car is very unique, and this uniqueness gives us a lot of opportunities to attract different new customers, especially those who want to have a luxury electric travel vehicle.”

Using engineering terminology, it is a luxurious and comfortable electric vehicle more suited for riding, which is currently the only one available in the market. For users who do not yet own a Mercedes-Benz model, they would prefer to have a unique Mercedes-Benz model, and the new EQS is an excellent choice for them.

In terms of the Mercedes-EQ brand layout, Mercedes-Benz also brought the relatively affordable new EQA pure electric SUV and the new EQB pure electric SUV. In Mr. Yang Ming’s words, both cars bring “electric luxury” to a new dimension in their respective segmented markets, which is consistent with the pursuit of the new EQS.

In the compact luxury electric SUV market, only the new EQA has a CLTC range of over 500 kilometers, and it is equipped with the highly intelligent MBUX human-machine interaction system. Users who have experienced Mercedes-Benz’s ADAS will be amazed at how good its driving assistance system and follow-up system are, which is not lacking in the new EQA. The haze terminator 3.0 equipped with a HEPA filter is also a benchmark in this class and shows respect for the health of the occupants.

And if you’re looking for a 7-seater model in the compact luxury electric SUV market, the new EQB is your only choice.

At this point, you may be wondering if Mercedes-Benz has abandoned traditional fuel-powered vehicles and shifted entirely to electrification.

Mr. Yang Ming’s statement “we won’t give up traditional fuel-powered cars completely,” as well as the global launch of the new Mercedes-Benz long-wheelbase C-Class, is a shot in the arm for those who have doubts.

The new Mercedes-Benz C-Class long-wheelbase car not only inherits the “meteor shower” digital headlights from the S-Class but also continues to extend the wheelbase by 34mm compared to existing products, increasing it to 2,954mm, bringing a more spacious and comfortable interior space.

Based on market research on Chinese customer preferences, Mercedes-Benz has tailor-made more exclusive rear seat configurations for the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class long-wheelbase car. The thickness and length of the rear seats are increased according to the preferences of Chinese users, and are complemented by a new luxurious rear seat headrest with additional soft pillows and a widened rear central armrest to create a “comfortable circle” of luxury experience.

The new generation of Mercedes-Benz CLS Four-Door Coupe, which has been dubbed the “Most Beautiful Mercedes-Benz,” also made its global debut at the Shanghai Auto Show. The Mercedes-Benz CLS Four-Door Coupe has undergone three generations of evolution, subverting imaginations and leading the trend of the times, becoming a representative of aesthetic pioneers.

While maintaining the iconic minimalist lines and pure curves, the new CLS Four-Door Coupe features a new “star diamond grille” that adorns the front face with an AMG-style front bumper, bringing a more dynamic and stylish visual impact. The sleek lines and full texture of the interior design collide with elegance and fashion, offering a richer choice of seat color combinations and wood trim options to create a richly expressive interior atmosphere.

For Mercedes-Benz, success in the gasoline car market is not enough to stop them from innovating. In every segmented market, Mercedes-Benz strives to make its products the industry standard. At the Shanghai Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz unveiled the new Mercedes-Benz E 350 eL plug-in hybrid and the Mercedes-Benz Sport Sedan, both of which can achieve a pure electric range of 120 kilometers under NEDC conditions.

Thanks to Mercedes-Benz’s third-generation plug-in hybrid technology, both cars achieve a 0-100 km/h acceleration in 6.7 seconds and a combined fuel consumption of 1.4 liters per 100 kilometers, balancing strong power and ultra-low fuel consumption.

Of course, for the Chinese market, the Mercedes-Benz brand cannot ignore those consumer groups who have a demand for ultimate luxury. The new Mercedes-Maybach S-Class combines Mercedes-Benz’s latest technology with the exclusive prestige of the Mercedes-Maybach sub-brand, and was launched at this year’s Auto Show with great honor.Translate the Chinese Markdown text below into English Markdown text, preserving the HTML tags inside the Markdown in a professional manner, outputting only the corrected and improved parts, and avoiding the explanations.

The description that best fits the Mercedes-Maybach vehicle is “powerful presence.” With a length of 5,470 millimeters and an extended wheelbase of 3,396 millimeters, the wide and spacious interior of the vehicle displays a broad pattern.

Since it is a Mercedes-Maybach model, Mercedes’ requirements for it are only two words – perfection.

The magnificent and dignified shape alone is far from perfect.

Perfection is not just the magnificent power brought by the V12 engine, nor is it just the Nappa leather and high-quality wood decor throughout the interior, nor is it just the No. 12 Osmanthus fragrance exclusively for the V12 model. It also includes the newly upgraded 64-color ambient lighting system with 12 color combinations, the comfortable components of the VIP-level independent rear seats with features like electrically adjustable leg rests, massage and headrest heating, the ultimate NVH brought by a combination of lightweight sound-absorbing technology and noise-reducing structure, and the delicate and soft sound quality conveyed by the Burmester® Berliner sound system, providing a truly enjoyable sensory experience.

Thus, the full sensory experience of sight, touch, smell, and sound all contribute to the name of the Maybach’s perfection.

If the new Mercedes-Maybach S-Class sedan represents the reachable representative of luxury, the Mercedes-Benz VISION AVTR concept car, which was first launched in China, signifies the beautiful vision of sustainable luxury.

It is reported that this extreme dream-like concept car was inspired by the sequel to the “Avatar” series and was jointly created by Mercedes-Benz’s design team and the “Avatar” film team. It is three-dimensionally presented and demonstrates Mercedes-Benz’s grand vision of harmonious coexistence between humans, cars, and nature through sustainable luxury.

Thus, Mercedes-Benz’s nine vehicles cover all aspects of luxury, from classic to innovative, from the present to the future.

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Through communication with Mr. Yang on-site, I deeply understand why Mercedes can stand confidently in today’s competitive auto industry.

It is because Mercedes has a comprehensive understanding of the word “luxury” from all dimensions.# “Luxury” contains many elements, and brand heritage, engineering, manufacturing, and service capabilities are all very important. We are also very fortunate to have accumulated experience in these areas. Our past years of experience are not a burden, but a solid foundation and ability. The segment of the market we are in allows us to reach and serve a group of customers who have high demands on the experience. Such a foundation and accumulation are not possessed by all enterprises, and these experienced assets are very valuable.

For Mercedes-Benz, its sales terminals are also undergoing transformation. Traditional sales channels will be more inclined towards product experience, while digitization will run through the process of product experience.

This will also be the trend of future automotive product sales.

I once thought about why so many users are only passionate about other brands for a short time, but never forget about Mercedes-Benz.

Today, Mr. Yang Ming answered my question very well with one sentence: “We are not just selling cars, but we hope to realize the dreams of more people about cars. This is unique and precious to our brand.”

So where the dream comes true, there is home advantage.

This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.