Hybrid Mercedes-AMG without a V8 turned out to be of no use to anyone

Mercedes-AMG acknowledged the loss of customers due to the abandonment of V8 engines. The Germans were unable to explain to customers what the advantages of a hybrid system based on a four-cylinder engine are and what the “63” nameplate has to do with it. Because of this, sales are falling, but Mercedes is not planning to return to the V8 in the C-Class.

The new Mercedes-AMG C 63 S 4Matic+ E Performance and GLC 63 S turned out to be uninteresting to buyers. There are several reasons, but the main one is, of course, the abandonment of the V8 engine in favor of a hybrid power plant based on the M 139 turbo-four. Not everyone liked such a radical change in concept, says AMG boss Michael Schiebe, and those who chose “ eights”, for the brand, as customers, are now lost. However, the company does not make a problem out of this, but simply offers to more clearly explain to customers the advantages of the new technology.

Of course, anyone can be impressed by the 0-60 mph or top speed figures, but when it comes to price, it turns out that the C 63 S costs more than, for example, the BMW M3 Competition xDrive with an inline-six. In Germany, the difference will be about 10 thousand euros, although the gain in dynamics is only 0.1 seconds in favor of AMG. At the start of sales in 2023, the C 63 S 4Matic+ E Performance was practically not bought. It is unlikely that the situation has changed much, otherwise why would Mercedes need to sell cars at a 20% discount in 2024? Probably, the decline in sales in the Top-End segment at the end of last year can also be explained by the low demand for hybrids.

In fact, the situation with sales in the “top end” (including Mercedes-AMG, S-Class and G-Class) is mixed. In the last three months of 2024, growth was 32%, with the G-Class and Mercedes-AMG setting a quarterly record. The Mercedes-AMG GT and Mercedes-AMG GLC showed good dynamics – but not a word is said about the “tseshki”. For the full year, 281,500 cars were sold in the Top-End, of which about half were S-Class. A 14% decline in sales compared to 2023 is explained by economic problems in China, a change in the model range and a slowdown in demand for electric vehicles.

Even with such introductions, you shouldn’t expect the V8 to return to the C-Class. But the “eight” may appear on other AMG models – the CLE coupe and convertible. According to unofficial data, the two-door will have a moderate hybrid system based on the four-liter M 177 engine with 585 horsepower.

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