In recent years, Mercedes-Benz has been actively working on optimizing its model range trying to cut costs. The company’s executives thought about whether to stop producing coupe-like SUVs or combine them into one more effective offer because of a noticeable decrease in sales. The Indy Auto Man used car dealer centre experts from Indianapolis offer their investigation of the cross-coupes trend.
Cross-Coupe body style
A cross-coupe is a relatively new body style that is the fruit of the synergy of a crossover and a sports coupe. These are usually powerful cars with a sporty design and premium interior. As a rule, they are all-wheel drive and feature the most advanced technologies. The BMW X6, released in 2008, can be seen as a pioneer in the coupe-shaped crossover category, also known as a Sports Activity Coupe according to the Bavarians. Then they expanded the line of similar crossovers, releasing more compact models X4 and X2.
Check more details about Mercedes-Benz plans on the lineup in 2025 here.
Other automakers picked up the trend and now there are similar bodies in the lines of many brands.
Porsche could not stay away and turned their latest generation Cayenne into a coupe-crossover. They did not have to redesign the body significantly for this. The designers lowered the roof edge, making the front pillars and windshield more sloping. In general, the silhouette of the Cayenne is more like a liftback than a coupe. There is only room for two passengers in the back due to the lowering of the roof.
Audi, in turn, also offers several such crossovers – Q8 and Q3 Sportback, and the Audi Q8 turned out to be more expensive than the Porsche Cayenne, and BMW X6. In addition, the electric crossover E-Tron Sportback is in the Audi current lineup.
Mercedes-Benz did not stay aside either. By tilting the roof, changing the angle of the windshield, and adding the Coupe prefix, they offered the second-generation Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe SUV. The coupe-like brother turned out to be wider, and longer, but with a shorter base. At the same time as the GLE Coupe, the company presented the charged version – Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 4Matic+ Coupé.
Over the past years, since the appearance of the first BMW X6 in 2008, crossover coupes have won the hearts of many car enthusiasts in the US. However, even though it has a stylish design and impressive performance, customers are highlighting several drawbacks, such as limited visibility, cramped seats, a low roof for backseat passengers, and a small trunk.
Mercedes-Benz cross-coupes
At the moment, Mercedes offers two cross-coupes – the GLC Coupe and GLE Coupe, which compete with the BMW X4 and X6. These models, with decent ground clearance and a sporty design, make up only 10-15% of the total sales worldwide, and in China, this figure is even lower – about 6%. In the United States, customers don’t buy cross-coupes too, believing there is nothing in them except for reduced practicality. Such modest results call into question the long-term viability of this body style in the Mercedes lineup.
Although the company’s CEO has not provided any comments yet, German publication Handelsblatt reports that insiders are expressing doubts about the future of crossovers with this type of body. Some executives believe it is time to stop producing the GLC Coupe and GLE Coupe, letting them disappear at the end of their life cycle. Others suggest merging the models into one, while some hope to maintain the current status quo.
Final thoughts
The new electric SUV, which is due to appear in 2026, is not expected to have a coupe version, which indicates that Mercedes is moving away from the sloping roof concept. Standard SUVs are becoming more elegant and aerodynamic, which calls into question the feasibility of coupe versions. However, the Mercedes cross-coupe models will remain in the model line for several years.
