Mercedes-Benz’s stand at the 2026 Beijing Auto Show looked like a show of force. Almost 40 cars, including four world premieres.
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The highlight of the program is the extended crossover GLC L. This is a global premiere, with two configurations exclusive to China: five- and six-seater.
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The length of the electric GLC L is 4933 mm, the wheelbase is 3027 mm, which is 55 mm longer than the standard version.
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At the rear there is a diffuser and a solid LED strip. The Chinese version has AIRMATIC air suspension and rear wheel steering (4.5 degrees).
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For the first time, a third row and a giant 39-inch branded MBUX Superscreen screen across the entire front panel became available for the GLC L.
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The difference from the standard version of the GLC in the extended model is a plus of 55 mm, which is immediately noticeable when you sit in the passenger seat. This car was created exclusively for China and is available for the first time in a six-seater version.
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In profile you can see how the engineers decided to increase the wheelbase by 55 mm. Two independent “captain’s” chairs in the second row with heating, ventilation and massage are an option that for some reason in China customers value above any other.
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The GLC L’s interior is almost like an S-Class in the world of mid-size crossovers. The arsenal includes Airmatic air suspension, rear wheels with a steering angle of 4.5 degrees and hydraulic silent blocks tuned specifically for Chinese roads. On the central tunnel there is a climate control unit for rear passengers.
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There are Chinese specifics even in the smallest details: the navigation system itself recognizes lanes for non-stop ETC travel.
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Before the launch, the GLC L underwent 230 crash tests, of which at least 80 were carried out in China, and the total mileage of the prototypes on local roads exceeded 1.1 million kilometers.
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The new S-Class debuted at the Beijing Auto Show, the main difference from its predecessor is inside. For example, a navigation system for city and highway trained on large language models. The sedan received an updated Airmatic suspension with intelligent damping. The system uses Car-to-X cloud data: if another Mercedes-Benz car passes a speed bump somewhere, your car already knows about it and adjusts the shock absorbers in advance. The rear wheels now turn 4.5 degrees as standard, with a 10-degree turn option available as an option. Under the hood of the S580 modification is a new 4.0-liter V8 with a flat-plane crankshaft (like the AMG GT Black Series) with 537 horsepower. The straight sixes received a reinforced electric compressor for instant response. In the hybrid version of the S580e, power has increased by 55 kW to 430 kW (585 hp), and the electric range is more than 100 kilometers.
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Another electric new product from Mercedes-Benz is the CLA 260 L sedan. This is no longer a concept, but the start of sales. Length – 4763 mm (40 mm longer than standard), wheelbase – 2830.
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The highlight of the new CLA 260 L is a two-stage electric drive. Most production electric cars use a single-stage gearbox with a constant gear ratio, but here the transmission has two ranges. Structurally, this device is similar to a classic automatic transmission, but is controlled electronically without driver intervention. The first gear provides a powerful start from a standstill and better efficiency in the urban cycle, while the second reduces the load on the engine when driving on the highway, saving energy and allowing you to reach maximum speed.
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The main task of such a transmission is to combat the main problem of electric vehicles – high consumption on the highway. Thanks to this, Mercedes-Benz engineers managed to achieve consumption of only 11 kWh per 100 km – this is one of the best figures in the class.
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The CLA is equipped with 11 airbags – a separate airbag between the front seats and knee airbags for the driver and passenger.
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The navigation system with automatic adjustment for ETC (automatic collection of tolls for toll roads without stopping) is a purely Chinese story. The car itself chooses a lane for non-stop passage of toll sections.
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The main luxury premiere is the new Mercedes-Maybach S-Class. Here we are not even talking about restyling, but about the first installation in the history of the brand of MB.OS – Mercedes-Benz’s own operating system, which combines autopilot, multimedia and chassis control into a single architecture. The top version of the S680 is still equipped with a 6.0-liter V12 producing 612 horsepower. Rear passengers received two 13.1-inch displays with gesture control and video chat – all developed by the Chinese team specifically for the local market. The Maybach’s dimensions are impressive: length 5484 mm, wheelbase 3396 mm, and the rear seats recline almost into a bed with a maximum backrest angle of 43.5 degrees. Technological features include the E-Active Body Control system with road reading and rear wheel steering up to 10 degrees. Safety was taken to its apogee: 15 airbags, belt airbags for rear passengers. There are even heated belts.
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The Chinese Mercedes-Benz team has developed a multimodal language model VLM for the rear passengers of the S-Class together with Tsinghua University and Zhipu (a developer of large language models). The system works on board without an Internet connection and processes not only voice, but also gestures and facial expressions, for example, it can dim the lights if a passenger yawns. Essentially, this is a transition from voice commands to an assistant that “reads” the passenger’s wishes.
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The AMG GT XX at the Beijing Motor Show is a concept already familiar to the Chinese public, which was first shown back in November 2025. The main thing about it is the technology of the future: three axial electric motors with almost 750 horsepower. Such motors are three times more compact and two-thirds lighter than conventional radial motors, and their magnetic flux runs parallel to the axis of rotation. The 800-volt battery can be charged in 5 minutes for 400 kilometers. This is the power plant that will be equipped in the serial AMG GT 4-Door Coupe on the AMG.EA platform.
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Another Mercedes-Benz exhibit is the Tomorrow XX. This is not just another concept, but a systematic project that for the first time deploys sustainable development technologies across the entire model line. The meaning is simple: the machine must be designed so that it can then be disassembled into parts and recycled without loss of quality. For example, the headlights are no longer glued together, but are screwed together – a broken lens can be replaced separately, rather than replacing the entire assembly. In total, more than 40 components made from recycled materials are on display, from carpets and insulation to aluminum panels and steel.
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Mercedes-Benz’s Chinese R&D wing in Shanghai and Beijing is now the largest outside Germany. And now this is where Mercedes-Benz technology is born for the whole world.
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The BBAC (Mercedes-Benz Plant Beking) plant in Beijing is the largest in the Mercedes-Benz system. Just recently the company produced its six millionth car. By 2027, the Germans will localize 20 models in China, including “clean” electric cars.
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Mercedes-Benz at the 2026 Beijing International Auto Show
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Mercedes-Benz at the 2026 Beijing International Auto Show
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Mercedes-Benz at the 2026 Beijing International Auto Show
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Mercedes-Benz brought four premieres to Beijing at once and a clear message: China is its main market. Among the new products are the electric GLC L with the third row of seats and suspension from the S-Class, the extended CLA 260L with a current consumption of 11 kWh per hundred, the updated S-Class and Maybach S-Class with a V12 and a neural network from Tsinghua University. Add to this the Tomorrow XX program with 40 types of recycled materials and a promise to release 20 localized models by 2027. Mercedes-Benz Beijing stand, in a photo report from Motor magazine.
