Behold the 2027 Mercedes-Benz C-Class EV, the all-electric-powered version of the C-Class sedan. It will be the second product to market following the GLC-Class SUV to be built on the all-new Mercedes-Benz Electric Architecture, known as MB.EA, that’s also expected to underpin an entire range of next-generation EV spinoffs of the E-Class, S-Class, and related SUVs.
Its launch cadence is directly matched to that of its Roundel rival, the 2027 BMW i3 sedan, and there are so many similarities between the cars: Each is built on a new, dedicated electric platform with a new software-defined zonal electronic architecture run by four supercomputers, each offers an impressive pillar-to-pillar screen, and both are targeting well over 300 miles of EPA rated driving range with their biggest battery options.
Slippery, Not Suppository
But the design direction these two cars are heading in couldn’t be more different. Where BMW’s Neue Klasse has gone for a crisp-edged, retro-inspired, avant garde look, Mercedes-Benz is working hard to put the ovoid appearance of its initial all-electric EQ lineup behind it, going instead for a much more traditional form language and proportion.
It starts up front with an upright, iconic Mercedes grille—reinterpreted for the electric age with 1,050 LED lights replacing the ventilation holes. These are flanked by smart matrix micro-LED headlamps highlighted by three-pointed star daytime running lights. It’s an unmistakably Mercedes-Benz visage.
From there, a hood long enough to conceal a straight-six (but instead hiding a 3.6-cubic-foot frunk) leads to a swoopy fastback profile. That shape, plus a wheelbase that’s stretched 3.8 inches relative to the current combustion-engine-powered C-Class are all design tricks to provide head- and legroom in a sedan whose floor was raised to accommodate a big battery pack. Black rocker panels serve to visually shrink the car’s vertical mass, while large tires on 18- or 20-inch rims fill the wheelwells.
Prominent rear shoulders above the rear wheels will show up in the rearview mirror, and the rear view is dominated by four tri-star lamps in a cross-car light bar. Note that while many spy photographers mistook this fast backlight for a hatch, the C-Class is a proper sedan, with a trunklid supported by huge gooseneck hinges. That roomy trunk, which measures 16.6 cubic feet, also includes a big underfloor compartment, and it’s expandable via a 40/20/40 folding seatback with releases in the trunk.