2026 GLC EV sales have significantly surpassed Mercedes-Benz’s sales expectations

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CayenneHybridSE@reddit

Q6 is the worst of the three and I say that as an E-Tron owner. The material quality is poor and the software is likely the worst of the 3. Not to mention worst range. It does look nice though

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Q6 is a cheaper car than the e-tron, material quality is high, maybe you’re not capable of differentiating the texture and structure from quality. Soft doesn’t mean quality, and neither hard is bad Quality.

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CayenneHybridSE@reddit

The Q6 in the U.S starts from $60k - $80k which is very close to the E-Tron when it was on sale, and that’s no excuse even at $60k. I had a Q6 loaner and it seems like every new EV they put out gets noticeably cheaper (The Q4 E-Tron being even worse - probably the worst EV I have ever driven). The entire center console is cheap piano black plastic that becomes a fingerprint magnet, the window switches and mirror controls are the same. Barely any wood in the interior anymore, and the steering wheel looks like it came out of a Kia.

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mintz41@reddit

How can you compare the material quality of the IX3 when it's not been released yet? Bizarre

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Asleep_Value2303@reddit

What’s bizarre about that? I drove the iX3 in September last year, it also was available for anyone to touch and check out in Munich since September as well.

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CayenneHybridSE@reddit

There are hundreds of photos of the IX3 out including reviews, I have eyes. Also frankly it’s hard to be worse than the newer Q6, which has a lot of plastics

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CaMoFi@reddit

I would argue that the GLC and iX3 are a coin toss. The Q6 seems to be slightly behind, but there are some good deals for them so based on price it might be an interesting choice

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Quick_Coyote_7649@reddit (OP)

I’d go GLC, Q6, then ix3

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DavidGoodwill@reddit

They went from 2 shifts 5 days a week to 3 shifts 6 days a week to keep up with pre-sales. If you ordre one now, there is a 9 month wait...if that's not a success, I don't know what is...

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MrReadilyUnready@reddit

BMW claim the iX3 is already sold out for 2026 in Europe.

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Quick_Coyote_7649@reddit (OP)

Great for bmw

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Dazzling-Rooster2103@reddit

The germans are making some awful looking cars recently.

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Quatro_Leches@reddit

on the other hand, Hyundai/Kia are killing it with designs, and honestly even some of the newer Honda/Toyota designs are very nice. meanwhile it's a dumpster fire from Merc and BMW

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The_Strom784@reddit

Meanwhile Audi went a bit too understated this time.

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Quatro_Leches@reddit

because they havent changed anything

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Herr_Quattro@reddit

I think the Audi design features look great- very Etron GT esque- I think it’s safe to hold judgement until we see the performance models to see how they compare to the M cars. And I think the neu classe will make or break BMW.

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itsnottommy@reddit

Hyundai and Kia are doing experimental design right. It’s very hit or miss, but it’s truly different. I respect it. IMO Honda’s simpler approach to styling is beautiful and will be viewed as timeless in 20+ years. Toyota splits the difference with mostly average results, but the current Prius is a masterpiece and will be a treat to see at car shows in a few decades. Meanwhile the Germans are putting out ostentatious slop for people who care more about the brand than the design. Mercedes’ insistence upon putting glowing star logos everywhere is a prime example.

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real_with_myself@reddit

That fits with the experiences I had with most of Benz' drivers.

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itsnottommy@reddit

I think the attention-grabbing logomania thing might make sense in lower-end models like the GLA, but I find it hard to believe the average S-Class buyer wants their car to be covered in glowing logos.

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real_with_myself@reddit

The more you pay, the bigger sign you'd want. Not sure 😂

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craiggers14@reddit

I don't understand the hate for this car. It looks like a normal car with a grill (albeit a big one) and regular headlights. It's far better than any of the EQ- blobs. Merc is too conservative to do Hyundai designs. I swear it's like most people actually like this split headlight trash that's infected automobile design over the last decade.

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JCD25373@reddit

I think this new GLC actually looks good in person for the most part. The LED grill looks pretty weird though imo. It’s fine from further away like when it’s driving by but when you’re close enough to see the individual squares it’s very tacky.

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cookingboy@reddit

And their customers love it.

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wwwhatisgoingon@reddit

Describing the design as distinctive or polarizing makes more sense to me. Some customer segments want that instant brand recognition, and that appears to be the Mercedes/BMW buyer. Doesn't hurt that the new GLC EV and iX3 have excellent specs.

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itsnottommy@reddit

Mercedes is by far the worst offender right now. Glowing star logos everywhere and now enormous fake grilles covered in LEDs. It makes BMW look reserved and Audi look downright classy in comparison. And judging by the absolute slop both of them have been putting out lately, that’s saying a lot.

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TheSexyKamil@reddit

You should have seen the earlier EVs, these look great in comparison

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Quick_Coyote_7649@reddit (OP)

There’s defintely some bad ones but they’re defintely not the only culprits of bad designs on sale right now lol

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hi_im_bored13@reddit

I've seen people on this sub saying this looks terrible, that the ix3 looks terrible, that the standard GLC & x3 are terrible products, at some point you just have to admit you're not representative of the average buyer & that they're clearly doing something right I do think the ix3 is the better of the two, but seems like they're both good enough that the pie itself is increasing too

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jawknee530i@reddit

I actually like this one, just with a black grill instead of silver.

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Quick_Coyote_7649@reddit (OP)

I think they’re both designs but I like the GLC more all around. Yeah some enthuasits can’t establish within themselves that some people love the designs and cars they strongly dislike

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hi_im_bored13@reddit

I just dont like that mercedes is taking the GLS & G-class big bar grill & making it their motif. I dont think its as good of a look as the bmw beaver The vision iconic did it better, that took more inspo from the 600 & co The other thing is at least with the CLA EV mercedes absolutely massacred pricing, the base is appealing till you realize literally everything is optional, including dual zone climate & a power trunk. I don't expect the GLC to be significantly better when it arrives stateside But that bit is speculation

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Quick_Coyote_7649@reddit (OP)

I think it makes more sense to have it on the suvs as well because sedans like the c class ev will get a big grill and probably the ev e class too so it make sense for the suv equals to have one too

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hi_im_bored13@reddit

I don't mind a big grill, I just think their style on the GLC could do with a little more heritage vs. BMW & even their own concepts You look at Cadillac, Volvo, Even the macans & ioniqs they've built a pretty strong motif & mercedes just seems a bit lost in comparison. Same thing w/ the triangle taillights, I don't hate them, I just think they can do better I think the new series of interiors are neat, the EQXX looked incredible, just hope they could take a little more of that & their other concepts

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Quick_Coyote_7649@reddit (OP)

I kind of agree with you. It seems like they have good ideas in mind but when it comes to production models struggle à bit with packaging them

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andygchicago@reddit

Presales are always front-loaded, so I'm not going to necessarily use a member of their marketing team's statement as a barometer for sales.

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Quick_Coyote_7649@reddit (OP)

Pre sales commuincate typically whether a product will sell well or not in the short term future. With the CLA putting their ev sales in the positives for the first time in a long time and them having also commuincated that sold greatly for the first quarter its sales were accounted for, I’d say it’s regional to trust their marketing team’s word that the GLC is selling greatly.

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thatgymdude@reddit

Careful with using pre-sales to dicate if a product will succeed or not. Some the worst failures in investing have fallen victime to this. A great example for cars is the Macan EV , they had strong presales because of the brand but ended up being a deficit for the brand.

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andygchicago@reddit

Than *CAN*, but it's not a steadfast rule by any means. Especially coming from a marketing exec in the company. Plenty of examples of vehicles that filled pre-orders and went on to sell like shit. Too many to count, in fact.

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Quick_Coyote_7649@reddit (OP)

In comparison to how offen a pre sale item fails once pre sale ends I’d say it’s a lot more rational to assume that it will go on to sell well theh to assume it wouldn’t.

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andygchicago@reddit

In the car industry you simply can't rely on assumptions, especially with presale numbers. Mercedes isn't. And I can guarantee you this "news" is a simple marketing opportunity by the exec and little more. Like I said, Mercedes knows better. Their presales for the EQS were strong and they were even quoted as saying they were "inspiring." Same with the EQE and the EQ G-Class.

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Quick_Coyote_7649@reddit (OP)

I defintely havent lol. I’ve spoken very what if based.

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V8-Turbo-Hybrid@reddit

That’s same thought when Macan EV was released. Macan EV had many orders, but it didn’t help Porsche after a while.

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duskie3@reddit

OEM: “Our car is selling really well!” r/cars: “ITS SHIT I HATE IT EVERYTHING IS SHIT ITS UGLY AND SHIT”

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thatgymdude@reddit

The mods should pin this comment, this sub sometimes show how out of touch they are by hating normal consumers for buying cars they like.

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maybach320@reddit

It’s not surprising to me, the biggest issue Mercedes had from an EV standpoint was price point followed closely by styling. I am shocked that the GLB EV wasn’t a bigger hit but the GLC does seem to be more popular than the GLB in the non EV platform.

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Reconvened@reddit

friggen hideous, and I am a Benz fanboy

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flatpetey@reddit

The light up grills are super tacky but still better than the plastic nose caps they had before that were ripped off of the gen 1 Tesla Model S. Out of all of these the Macan EV is the boring okay one. But whatever, crossover SUVs almost always lack character. Hell Lamborghini and Ferrari couldn’t manage to make theirs look more than generic.

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