The rise in popularity of SUVs over the past couple of decades has been bad news for estates, hatchbacks and even saloons – but the biggest casualties have been MPVs and now the Mercedes B-Class is almost ready for the chopping block.

Speaking exclusively to Auto Express, Robert Lesnik, Exterior Design Director at Mercedes, said the “B-Class is definitely not having a future” in response to the company expanding its EV market coverage with the likes of the new Electric A-Class. 

The brand had originally planned for four new models to sit on its all-new Mercedes-Benz Modular Architecture (MMA) platform: the CLA saloon and Shooting Brake, plus the new GLB SUV and the upcoming GLA. The forthcoming Electric A-Class will now take this figure to five in a couple of years’ time, but Mercedes has no plans to squeeze in an all-electric B-Class as well. “These days people have switched to SUVs. SUVs have killed the MPV market”, explained Lesnik. 

He also pointed towards the new GLB SUV, which will come with seven seats as standard, as a natural successor to the B-Class. The GLB, like the CLA, will also come with a hybrid powertrain.

The first B-Class arrived in 2004 with a traditional MPV bodystyle, looking to expand on the practicality of the A-Class, on which it was based. While the second-generation B-Class, which launched in 2011, used the same MFA platform as the A-Class (which had transformed into a family hatchback), the B-Class retained an MPV bodystyle. This shape continued on to the current B-Class, which has been around since 2018 with petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid powertrains. 

The B-Class currently kicks off at £36,215, making it £4,365 more expensive than the entry-level A-Class. For cheaper alternatives, used examples of the current B-Class can be found on the Auto Express Buy A Car service from under £13,000.

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