Mercedes-Benz A-Class and B-Class bowing out in 2025

In an apparent confirmation of a claim made last month, a new report from Germany has alleged that Mercedes-Benz will be calling time on the A-Class and B-Class once the lifecycles of the current models expire.

Coming in the same month as Audi’s decision to continue with the A3, business publication Handelsblatt, citing alleged internal sources, claims that Mercedes-Benz board members at a meeting this past week, agreed to have the plug pulled on both models no later than 2025.

While Stuttgart looks set to continue with the GLB, GLA, CLA and CLA Shooting Brake, the end of the A-Class will bring to an end what will be 28 years of a moniker originally envisioned as a step-up rival for the Volkswagen Golf.

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Given the timing, it appears almost certain that the current W177 A-Class will be the final encore for the smallest Benz given its debut only happened in 2018.

For its part, the B-Class premiered in 2005 and will therefore be dropped after exactly 20 years should the claimed report be proven accurate. In its present-day state, the B-Class bowed three years ago as the sole rival for the continuing BMW 2 Series Active Tourer.

“It’s not our goal to be a competitor of the volume producers. That’s not what the Mercedes-Benz brand stands for. So stay tuned as far as our product portfolio is concerned,” Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius told Britain’s Autocar last month in what was seen as the biggest hint of the A-Class’ departure.

“But we would rather be looking up than down. Even before the supply constraints started, we had made it clear that our strategy isn’t to chase volume but to chase value for our customers and company.”

The end of the A-and-B-Class will bring the number of three-pointed star models axed over the last few years to five following the end of the ill-fated Nissan Navara based X-Class bakkie in 2020, and the imminent departure of the C-and-E-Class Cabriolet and Coupe.

Unlike the former though, a replacement for the latter quartet will be offered from next year in the shape CLE. Expect more details regarding the future of the A-Class and B-Class to become more transparent over the coming months.