Behold the 2027 Mercedes-Benz C-Class EV, the all-electric-powered version of the C-Class sedan. It will be the second product to market following the GLC-Class SUV to be built on the all-new Mercedes-Benz Electric Architecture, known as MB.EA, that’s also expected to underpin an entire range of next-generation EV spinoffs of the E-Class, S-Class, and related SUVs.

Its launch cadence is directly matched to that of its Roundel rival, the 2027 BMW i3 sedan, and there are so many similarities between the cars: Each is built on a new, dedicated electric platform with a new software-defined zonal electronic architecture run by four supercomputers, each offers an impressive pillar-to-pillar screen, and both are targeting well over 300 miles of EPA rated driving range with their biggest battery options.

Slippery, Not Suppository
But the design direction these two cars are heading in couldn’t be more different. Where BMW’s Neue Klasse has gone for a crisp-edged, retro-inspired, avant garde look, Mercedes-Benz is working hard to put the ovoid appearance of its initial all-electric EQ lineup behind it, going instead for a much more traditional form language and proportion.

It starts up front with an upright, iconic Mercedes grille—reinterpreted for the electric age with 1,050 LED lights replacing the ventilation holes. These are flanked by smart matrix micro-LED headlamps highlighted by three-pointed star daytime running lights. It’s an unmistakably Mercedes-Benz visage.

From there, a hood long enough to conceal a straight-six (but instead hiding a 3.6-cubic-foot frunk) leads to a swoopy fastback profile. That shape, plus a wheelbase that’s stretched 3.8 inches relative to the current combustion-engine-powered C-Class are all design tricks to provide head- and legroom in a sedan whose floor was raised to accommodate a big battery pack. Black rocker panels serve to visually shrink the car’s vertical mass, while large tires on 18- or 20-inch rims fill the wheelwells.

Prominent rear shoulders above the rear wheels will show up in the rearview mirror, and the rear view is dominated by four tri-star lamps in a cross-car light bar. Note that while many spy photographers mistook this fast backlight for a hatch, the C-Class is a proper sedan, with a trunklid supported by huge gooseneck hinges. That roomy trunk, which measures 16.6 cubic feet, also includes a big underfloor compartment, and it’s expandable via a 40/20/40 folding seatback with releases in the trunk.

Inside the Inner Space of the C-Class EV
The interior of the electric 2027 C-Class is dominated by the automaker’s 39.1-inch Hyperscreen setup featuring matrix backlighting courtesy of 1,000 microLEDs that allow local dimming, so the passenger screen brightness can be set independently of the others. A lower-priced Superscreen option will place three individual screens behind a similarly shaped single piece of glass, and base models will still get an electronic picture frame on the passenger side. An augmented reality head-up display, as found in the S-Class, will also be available.

Another cool option is the Starry Sky Control panoramic roof that can be electrically dimmed to translucent and includes a constellation of 162 three-pointed stars that can be made to glow in colors coordinated with the ambient lighting. The rear seat offers great visibility and surplus head- and shoulder room for this 5-foot-10 scribe, but just enough legroom, on a floor that feels high, suggesting taller folks may wish for more thigh support.

Certified Vegan Interior Options
Top models will include Nappa leather with “twisted diamond” stitching on seats that offer lumbar support, heating, cooling, massage, and “4D sound” vibration as part of several Energizing Comfort programs. But perhaps more noteworthy are several more sustainable interior choices offered on both the GLC and C-Class that Mercedes-Benz claims are the first to have been certified 100 percent free of animal-derived materials and adhesives by The Vegan Society (it’s the glues that are trickiest to de-animalize).

MBUX Assistant Is Your AI-Enhanced Onboard Friend
The MBUX Virtual Assistant leverages multiple major AI engines—Google Gemini, ChatGPT, and others—to enable smart navigation destination settings. It’s also designed to retain memory (until the key switches off), allowing occupants to engage in extended conversations and ask complex follow-up questions on wide-ranging topics. Three avatars are available: a talking star, a humanoid head, or a personified, rounded Hyperscreen.

Ample Rear-Biased Power
Like its GLC SUV sibling, the sedan will launch in dual-motor, all-wheel-drive form, as the C400 4Matic. The powertrain is identical, with the rear motor producing 402 hp and 369 lb-ft and spinning through a two-speed drive unit. The front “helper” motor makes 215 hp and 221 lb-ft, and a clutch disconnects it whenever front traction isn’t needed. Total combined output never exceeds 483 hp and 590 lb-ft. We can expect C250 rear-wheel-drive, lower-powered C300 4Matic, and higher-powered AMG versions to follow. We’re told the C400 4Matic will hit 60 mph in around four seconds.

Sophisticated Suspension
Mercedes says this will be the sportiest C-Class ever. That’s thanks to a low center of gravity and an optional suspension featuring AirMatic springs, amplitude-selective adaptive dampers, and rear-wheel steering of up to 4.5 degrees. It will also leverage Car-to-X Google-mapping of known speed bumps recorded by 1.6 million other connected Mercedes cars plying the roadways. For said speed bumps, the suspension will soften. For potholes, the car will warn the driver.

Electric C-Class Charging and Range Bona Fides
The battery and charging setup of the new electric C-Class also mirrors that of the GLC: A 94-kWh NMC battery pack operating at 800 volts is rated to charge at 330 kW, and an onboard DC converter permits 175-kW charging at slower 400-volt chargers. A lower-priced lithium-iron-phosphate battery is expected to join the lineup. A targeted 472 miles of the European standard WLTP range should equate to somewhere in the 335–350-mile EPA-rated range.

Evergreen Electronics
The C-Class’ MB.EA underpinnings are software defined and fully upgradable with a catalog of what Mercedes calls “Digital Extras.” Some 52 of them had been loaded onto the Digital Extras screen of a GLC400 SUV we drove during the C-Class unveiling. They included items like Accident/Breakdown Management, Digital Light Animations (to program the pixelated headlamps), and Energizing Coach. The ones you’ll use most may be MB Drive Assist Pro, which will eventually allow point-to-point supervised hands-free driving for cars equipped with the full suite of 10 cameras, five radars, and 12 ultrasonic sensors.

When and How Much?
Production of the new electric C-Class begins later this year, with U.S. deliveries sometime in early 2027. We expect the price to undercut the SUV by maybe $5,000, but we should learn a lot more about the pricing and EPA range later this summer. And we look forward to covering the battle between the electric BMW i3 and this Mercedes C-Class in the larger war that’s brewing between BMW’s Neue Klasse and Mercedes-Benz’s MB.EA.

(Photo credit: Frank Markus)

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