The Mercedes-Benz SLC faces an uncertain future after Mercedes boss Dieter Zetsche said a replacement is by no means a formality.
“These speciality cars have lost their share in our total portfolio,” said Zetsche. “For a particularly long time, China has led growth, and China shows little interest in cars such as these.
“Our portfolio is not something defined for eternity. We revisit constantly, and that’s what we’re doing. Any decisions we will communicate in the future.”
Without referring to the SLC, Mercedes development boss Ola Källenius also said that Mercedes could look to make changes to its product line-up in the future.
“We’ve has 20-plus years of uninterrupted broadening of the portfolio,” he said. “In 2022, we’ll have 40-plus models. Even if we love every child - and we do - we’ll be rational. We will not hesitate to slim down if we look at the economics. We will look at the next 10 years and cater to where the market is going.”
Källenius added that Mercedes is still open to finding yet more niches. “We won’t rule out creativity,” he said.
The SLC, badged SLK until 2016, was launched in 1996 and kick-started the industry-wide trend for folding hard-top convertibles.
Read more:
Mercedes-AMG SLC 43 review
Mercedes-AMG to launch Porsche 718 Cayman rival
