Luxury’s old king wants its crown back with SUVs, electric power, and a new U.S. strategy to rebuild ties with its 384 dealers

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Once the dominant player in America’s luxury car race, Mercedes-Benz is now working to reclaim lost ground. Between 2016 and 2018, it was the top-selling premium brand in the US, ahead of all rivals. That changed. Today, it trails BMW and Lexus, sitting in third place. But it isn’t settling in.

Read: Mercedes-AMG’s New GLC Is Going After Macan EV With Supercar Power

The company is targeting an ambitious return to the top, setting its sights on 400,000 annual US sales by 2030, roughly 100,000 more than it moves now. Needless to say, Achieving this goal won’t be easy.

The SUV Strategy

According to Auto News, Mercedes plans to lean heavily on its core SUV lineup, with expectations that by decade’s end, the GLC, GLE, and GLS will make up 55 percent of total sales, up from 40 percent today.

Fueling this shift will be the upcoming all-electric GLC, along with refreshed versions of the GLE and GLS. All are intended to help boost volumes and modernize the brand’s US footprint.

This isn’t all the brand is planning. While recently speaking with Auto News, Mercedes-Benz USA chief executive Adam Chamberlain said the brand will be “spending a lot more time designing cars in America for America.”

That includes expanding its V8 offerings for the US market and upgrading several smaller vehicles with six-cylinder engines, adding variety and power where it matters to American buyers.

AMG Plans Take Shape Too

Exciting things are also happening at the AMG brand. The all-electric AMG GT four-door will hit dealerships in late 2026 with more than 1,000 hp, giving Mercedes a rival to the likes of the Porsche Taycan and Audi e-tron GT.

AMG is also working on an electric midsize crossover, recently shown during a key dealer meeting in Las Vegas, offering a preview of where high-performance EVs are headed within the brand.

Dealer Network Push

It’s not just a slew of new models that Mercedes-Benz hopes will allow it to significantly grow US sales. Chamberlain says the company is eager to improve relations with its 384 retailers across the United States.

Last year, Mercedes was sitting in 25th place out of 32 brands in the NADA Dealer Attitude Study. It has since climbed to 13th, and Chamberlain wants it to return to the top five. “This is a symbiotic relationship,” he said. “When we do well, they do well.”

Chamberlain described the carmaker’s desire to hit 400,000 annual sales in the US as a “North Star, a rallying cry,” adding that “there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to put 20,000 cars or so on a year.”

According to one dealer who attended the Las Vegas meeting, Mercedes-Benz is doubling down on its investments in the United States because it is struggling to perform in China.

Source: Auto News