In a bid to cater to this worldwide surge in demand for different types of luxury car, Mercedes will launch the new VLS next year as a more upmarket version of its incoming VLE people carrier, based on the radical Vision V concept it revealed at the Shanghai motor show last year.
In the meantime, it will renew its assault on the luxury SUV segment in the coming months with a heavily updated version of the GLS SUV, which is expected to receive mostly the same features and cues as the S-Class.
A revamped version of the top-drawer Maybach S-Class – which accounted for a third of all S-Class global sales last year, and half in China – is also expected to be unveiled in the coming months.
What’s new for 2026?
The business end
Back seat can now be used as a proper “boardroom on wheels”, Mercedes says, with new smartphone-style remote control devices for the larger, 13.1in rear screens, wireless and rapid phone chargers, a fridge, temperaturecontrolled cupholders and the ability to join meetings via Zoom or Teams via new HD webcams. There are also two business class-inspired fold-out tables.
City slicker
New hardware – for cars with both standard air suspension and the optional active system – uses road information from other Mercedes cars, via the cloud, to prime the dampers for long speed bumps, which, the company says, are especially common in the south of Europe and the US. Meanwhile, rear wheels now turn up to 4.5deg as standard, or up to 10deg optionally, which trims the 5.3m long-wheelbase S-Class’s turning circle by two metres.