The spacious interior of the new electric GLC (All photos: Mercedes-Benz)
There was a palpable sense of anticipation in the air that evening at the Mercedes-Benz Center in Singapore’s Alexandra Street. After all, the famous German marque was about to unveil something special — an all new electric version of its global bestseller, the GLC. In all the excitement, a thought arose: perhaps we were not just witnessing the introduction of a new electric model, but the unveiling of a fresh chapter in Mercedes-Benz’s illustrious 140-year history.
Since Carl Benz filed the patent for the world’s first automobile in 1886, and Gottlieb Daimler built his motorised carriage shortly afterwards, Mercedes has dedicated itself to creating the world’s most desirable vehicles for its customers. For decades, the premium car maker has built a reputation on engineering precision and cutting-edge technical innovation of the internal combustion engine. Beyond motoring, it has also championed innovation and artistry in fashion and sports, operating Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in selected major cities and cultural hubs, and being a premier partner of the Women’s Tennis Association, sponsoring icons like global brand ambassador and American Coco Gauff (World No 4).
Today, the car industry is perhaps undergoing its biggest shift since that day in 1886. Every major automaker is now operating in a market transformed by electric vehicles, digital technology and a new generation of Chinese automotive brands. By reimagining its globally best-selling GLC for the electric era, Mercedes is confidently facing those challenges head-on.
“The GLC has long held a special place among our customers, and the all-new electric GLC marks an exciting chapter for this much-loved model. With its reimagined design, cutting-edge technology and powerful driving dynamics, it creates an experience that feels both progressive and reassuringly familiar, embodying the unmistakable feeling of ‘Welcome Home’,” said Martin Schulz, CEO and president of Mercedes-Benz Cars Malaysia and head of region for Mercedes-Benz Cars Southeast Asia.
“Welcome Home” is Mercedes’ brand promise to its customers, conveying a sense of safety, security, comfort, confidence and belonging from the moment they enter the cabin.
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An icon, reimagined
The GLC retains the proportions and presence of the familiar Mercedes mid-sized SUV but gives the brand’s traditional and iconic grille a futuristic makeover. Instead of being required to cool an internal combustion engine, the grille of the all-new electric GLC has evolved into an illuminated piece of high-tech art, with 942 polycarbonate backlit dots, contour lighting and an illuminated central star. The electric GLC is the first model to bear this iconic panel. It was visually stunning to see in person, and admirable from near and far. The illuminated covering felt familiar, yet totally modern at the same time. Also, its pixel graphic can be animated and the three-pointed star logo can be seen in the headlights and tail lights. Any car owner who prioritises design would be instantly hooked.
Digital forward
The GLC’s interior has been digitally transformed to meet customers’ high expectations of their everyday experience with technology, whether it is with smartphones, smart home devices or in connected vehicles. The centrepiece in the GLC is the seamless MBUX Hyperscreen that spans the entire dashboard with its continuous 99.3cm (39.1in) display, providing an intuitive experience with all essential information available at a glance. The Mercedes-Benz Operating System (MB.OS) enables over-the-air software updates through a central Mercedes-Benz Intelligent Cloud server.
The new MBUX system incorporates artificial intelligence from Microsoft and Google, enabling AI-powered voice interaction with the MBUX Virtual Assistant (just activate it with a “Hey Mercedes”), navigation with Google Maps, personalisation options and an extensive range of apps. Impressively, the MBUX Virtual Assistant can maintain context, which means the system remembers past interactions during a conversation so the driver does not have to repeat him or herself or restart the request from scratch. This allows the driver to converse more naturally with the car. All the above highlights the importance Mercedes has placed on enhancing the digital experience and how intelligently the car interacts with the driver.
The GLC has a Sky Control panoramic roof whose glass can switch between transparent and opaque, with nine individually adjustable segments. It is adorned with numerous illuminated stars in the Mercedes-Benz Pattern, which colour-coordinates with the ambient lighting in the rest of the vehicle, providing a harmonious starry-sky effect. You would be forgiven for thinking of Buzz Lightyear’s words: “To infinity and beyond”.
The GLC’s electrical architecture includes a high-voltage 800-volt system, which works alongside a highly efficient new battery to deliver three major benefits: faster charging, better performance and less wasted energy. A range of up to 255km can be recharged in just 10 minutes according to WLTP, a global laboratory testing standard used to measure a car’s electric driving range. Other benefits include a navigation system that can automatically incorporate charging stops and calculate energy requirements based on factors such as traffic, temperature, terrain and climate-control demands.
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Stay electrified
If you happen to be on the fence about going fully electric for your next luxury car purchase, this new CLA 200 AMG Line may just provide you with a small electric jolt to help you decide. Previewed along with the electric GLC, the CLA 200 model uses electrification to make it the most efficient Mercedes vehicle with an internal combustion engine in its segment, with fuel consumption of around five litres per 100km or less. Intrigued?
This CLA model uses an electrified eight-speed dual-clutch transmission with an integrated electric motor. At urban speeds (that is, gentle town driving), it can actually run on electric power alone, coast electrically (the term used is “electric sailing”, that is, efficient coasting with a decoupled drivetrain) and recover energy through all eight gears.
“The all-new Mercedes-Benz CLA 200 AMG Line offers customers an ideal balance of expressive design and effortless everyday driving. Its distinctive illuminated radiator grille creates an unmistakable presence, while the ability to drive on electric power at urban speeds, coast efficiently, and recuperate energy across all eight gears delivers a smooth and highly efficient driving experience,” says Kevin Barbian, chief operating officer at Mercedes-Benz Cars Malaysia.
Visually, the new CLA 200 closely resembles its electric counterpart. It comes with an AMG Line exterior, 19in AMG 5-twin-spoke light-alloy wheels, multibeam LED headlights, surround lighting with animated projection of the Mercedes pattern and a large panoramic roof. As it has an internal combustion engine, the CLA model retains a classic radiator grille with central star and Mercedes pattern in chrome. It is framed by an LED light guide, the edges of which are LED-illuminated when the lights are switched on. It is an impressive grille, but you know where our heart is.
As one would expect, the interior is also nearly identical to its all-electric cousin, with the MB.OS, MBUX Superscreen, MBUX Virtual Assistant and integrated Google Maps all ready to provide an immersive digital experience for the driver and passengers.
With the new CLA 200, Mercedes is offering a hybrid option for its customers, giving them the best of both worlds, and perhaps also showing that the road to electric does not have to be a one-way street.
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Breaking the mould
The next morning, Mercedes took the media on a special visit to the newly opened Mercedes-Benz Studio Singapore at Gardens by the Bay, marking the company’s first global Studio concept in Southeast Asia. It gives Mercedes new ways and opportunities to interact with customers, fans and the wider public to help them experience the brand beyond its vehicles through community, cultural, food, creativity and lifestyle collaborations.
Selecting Gardens by the Bay allows the Studio to connect the brand with the Little Red Dot’s combination of nature, design and innovation. “Singapore’s energy, creativity and spirit of innovation make it the perfect home for the Studio.
Located at Gardens by the Bay, we’re bringing the brand closer to the people and the city we serve, while showing where luxury is heading,” says Marcel Luis Mustelier Perez, CEO and president of Mercedes-Benz Singapore.
The Studio comprises three distinctive yet interconnected spaces:
- Canvas (for creativity), where vehicles are displayed alongside art and design installations, with local and regional creatives involved.
- Commune (for lifestyle), which is part café and part social hub, allowing visitors to encounter Mercedes products and collaborations while experiencing food, furniture and lifestyle concepts.
- Courtyard (for community), a space for community gatherings, various activities and programmes, including running, cycling, wellness and workshops.
Seeing the new electric GLC and CLA 200 out on display in the Canvas area with the gardens in the background, the Studio certainly presented a unique, warm and welcoming way to experience the brand.
There, CEO Schulz kindly took some time to highlight the electrification transformation that is happening in the industry, as well as at Mercedes. With the strength of 140 years of innovation, he was excited to see how Mercedes is utilising its expertise in internal combustion engines, advanced electric systems and a combination of both to create highly efficient vehicles and — most importantly — offer customers a variety of choices. He was also pleased to add that Mercedes-Benz Malaysia plans to introduce 17 new models for the Malaysian market in 2027, expanding its offerings across both internal combustion engine and electric vehicle segments. Talk about being spoilt for choice!
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After the Studio, it was time to head back to the Mercedes-Benz Center for a quick test drive of the electric GLC and CLA 200. For a regular driver who places particular emphasis on aesthetics and design, the luxurious feel of the GLC, from the smooth handling on the roads to the premium feel of the leather interior, is enjoyable. The MBUX Hyperscreen, which felt like an expansive digital cockpit that enhances the overall driving experience, is also a marvel, offering refined luxury with a modern twist. The CLA 200 gave a feeling of stable handling and a more robust ride quality as a compact sedan compared to the GLC. The interior had the familiar premium and sporty feel to it, with the similar hyperscreen dashboard ever-ready to provide digital assistance to the driver.
Mercedes, with its 140-year history of innovation (and 75 years and counting in Malaysia), is clearly building on its rich heritage of engineering precision, design language, and safety and comfort to reinvent itself for an automotive world that is rapidly becoming electric, digital and increasingly competitive. It appears the luxury automaker is pursuing its electrification strategy in a balanced and pragmatic way, fusing its legacy combustion engine technology with next-generation electric vehicle development and providing enticing options to customers. It was reported that most of the new models planned for 2027 would be locally assembled at the Mercedes-Benz Production Plant in Pekan, Pahang.
Mercedes is not leaving its legacy behind. The marque is translating its iconic heritage into a new generation of vehicles and redefining luxury automaking in the electric age.
This article first appeared on Oct 12, 2026 in The Edge Malaysia.
