Source | YuanAuto

As of the time of reporting, Mercedes-Benz has opted to keep the comment sections closed on its Xiaohongshu and Weibo platforms.

Taking Xiaohongshu as an illustration, the most recent comment on Mercedes-Benz's official account dates back to "4 days ago," specifically June 6. Moreover, the platform indicates that the official Xiaohongshu account restricts comments to only those from users it follows, yet it follows just a single user. On Weibo, Mercedes-Benz's official account has implemented a system for selecting comments to display.

Reflecting on Mercedes-Benz's recent actions, the rationale behind comment control likely stems from the introduction of its new all-electric GLC SUV.

On June 5, Mercedes-Benz unveiled the pre-sale of its latest all-electric GLC SUV, with prices commencing at 349,000 yuan. This pricing strategy appears quite competitive within the Mercedes-Benz portfolio, especially considering that the current gasoline-powered GLC model starts at 351,800 yuan, and the pre-sale all-electric GLC represents the top-tier variant in the range.

However, in the broader market context, this price point may not be as enticing. After all, rival BBA all-electric SUVs such as the Audi E7X and Q6L e-tron boast starting prices in the "200,000 yuan bracket," not to mention the stiff competition from Chinese brands.

Consequently, there is no shortage of market chatter suggesting that the all-electric GLC SUV's price is "unrealistic," particularly since the top-tier model, priced at 349,000 yuan, lacks standard features like the Hyperscreen (costing an additional 10,200 yuan), air suspension + rear-wheel steering (17,600 yuan), and head-up display (5,100 yuan). These features are typically included without extra charge in competing models.

Yet, this scenario also presents Mercedes-Benz with an opportunity. Previously, Xpeng employed a similar tactic to great effect with its new GX model.

01 Xpeng GX's Winning Formula

Xpeng's GX launch stands as the most effective example of stirring consumer sentiment in 2026 thus far.

At the tech event on April 15, Xpeng announced a pre-sale price of 399,800 yuan for the new GX. Despite being a new flagship for the brand, this price, significantly higher than the brand's usual range, sparked considerable discussion. At the time, on social media, at least eight out of ten posts about the Xpeng GX revolved around its price.

Clearly, this was all part of Xpeng's master plan.

During the official launch, the Xpeng GX's starting price, inclusive of limited-time discounts, was set at 269,800 yuan, marking a substantial 130,000 yuan reduction from the pre-sale price. This move fully ignited the purchasing impulse of potential buyers and even bystanders, propelling the GX to become Xpeng's most promising hit model since the MONA M03. The waiting time for delivery of the top-tier all-electric model still exceeds 30 weeks.

Xpeng managed to create such a significant price expectation gap with the GX by deviating from industry norms and only announcing the pre-sale price of the top-tier model, rather than the entire lineup. If only considering the top-tier model, the reduction in the GX's official launch price compared to the pre-sale price was 40,000 yuan, which is far less impactful than the perceived "130,000 yuan drop."

It must be acknowledged that Xpeng executed a highly successful pricing strategy with the GX. Returning to Mercedes-Benz, the pre-sale price of 349,000 yuan for the new all-electric GLC SUV's top-tier version clearly exceeds market expectations, but this also sets the stage for Mercedes-Benz to potentially draw inspiration from Xpeng's launch strategy.

Imagine if Mercedes-Benz simply aligned its price with competitors when the new all-electric GLC SUV officially launches, such as starting at 269,800 yuan like the Audi E7X and Q6L e-tron. This would create an atmosphere of a nearly 100,000 yuan price reduction compared to the pre-sale price. Who could resist such an offer?

02 Learning from the Pure Electric CLA's Missteps

For Mercedes-Benz, the new all-electric GLC SUV represents the most promising new model this year to boost brand popularity and sales. Although Mercedes-Benz still regards the domestically produced next-generation GLE as a strong asset, given the continuous decline of gasoline-powered vehicles this year, focusing on the all-electric GLC SUV is clearly the wiser choice.

Moreover, in China's pure electric vehicle sector, Mercedes-Benz has limited room for error.

According to the latest third-party retail data for May, only the pure electric CLA model from Mercedes-Benz registered sales figures, with 161 units sold. The EQ series pure electric models, which previously managed to sell hundreds or even thousands of units per month with terminal discounts, have vanished from the data.

In fact, even when extending the timeline to six months (December 2025 – May 2026), Mercedes-Benz's cumulative sales of pure electric models were a mere 4,098 units. Even without comparing to Chinese brand competitors, Audi and BMW both sold over 10,000 units of pure electric models during the same period.

Against this backdrop, the significance of the all-electric GLC SUV is self-evident.

If we were to review Mercedes-Benz's recent pure electric product lineup, product strength is not the issue. Take the pure electric CLA, which was hailed as the "beacon of hope" for Mercedes-Benz's electrification transformation in 2025, as an example. Its assisted driving system, developed in collaboration with Momenta, and its pure electric range enabled by a two-speed transmission, were unique selling points among competing models, especially within the traditional luxury brand阵营 (which means "camp" or "group" in this context).

However, the pricing of the pure electric CLA exposed it to even fiercer market competition.

As a compact all-electric sedan, the pure electric CLA had a starting price of 249,000 yuan when it launched in 2025. This price was not only higher than that of mainstream all-electric sedans from international manufacturers like the Tesla Model 3 and BMW i3 but even encroached upon the territory of hit all-electric SUVs from Chinese brands like the Xiaomi YU7 and Li Auto i6.

Although Mercedes-Benz introduced a lower-range version of the pure electric CLA at the Beijing Auto Show in April 2026, reducing the starting price to 229,000 yuan, this has not yet significantly boosted sales.

Returning to the all-electric GLC SUV, it continues the product strengths of the pure electric CLA, such as solid range, but if the same pricing strategy is adopted, its prospects remain uncertain.

As Li Xiang, founder, chairman, and CEO of Li Auto, aptly put it, in today's fiercely competitive domestic new energy vehicle market, every new model launch and every pricing decision is like playing a card, and the opportunities to play cards are becoming increasingly precious. One misstep could mean never getting another chance.

Instead of following the pure electric CLA's path of only adjusting pricing downward six months after launch, Mercedes-Benz should aim to get it right with the all-electric GLC SUV from the outset.

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