Mercedes-Benz will launch a 1,000-hp all-electric supercar based on its Concept AMG GT XX, the automaker’s U.S. CEO told dealers meeting in Las Vegas. It’s part of a plan to deliver a one-third growth in sales by decade’s end, helping the German automaker catch up with luxury rivals BMW and Lexus – while also countering an ongoing slump in China. More from Headlight.News.
Expect to see Mercedes shift focus from ultra-exotic products like this Maybach, to more mainstream offerings.
Mercedes’ AMG performance arm has a history of rolling out ever faster and more powerful supercars. But the GT XX Concept revealed last June took things to a new level, delivering 1,340 horsepower and setting a top speed of 223 mph.
A production EV based on the supercar concept is set to make its debut late next year, Mercedes-Benz USA CEO Adam Chamberlain told dealers gathered in Las Vegas last week. Precise specs haven’t been released though the automaker indicated the AMG model will use a new generation of “axial flux” motors to deliver at least 1,000 horsepower.
For dealers, Chamberlain revealed an even more important number: Mercedes’ plan to boost retail sales to 400,000 annually by the end of the decade. That would be up by a third from 2024 retail volume and help better position the Stuttgart-based manufacturer to catch up to rivals BMW and Lexus, both of whom have surged ahead of Mercedes in the U.S. market. Building traction in the States has gained urgency as demand in China – the automaker’s biggest market – is losing ground.
A North Star
Mercedes US CEO Adam Chamberlain.
In 2024, Mercedes sold 325,000 vehicles in the U.S., including fleet. Chamberlain’s plan focuses on the retail side of the business, which grew 6% during the first three quarters of this year, to 223,800.
Hitting 400,000 is “a North Star, a rallying cry,” Chamberlain told Automotive News following the dealer meeting.
To get there, however, requires some changes in product strategy. In recent years, Mercedes has focused heavily on high-line products, including the likes of Maybach editions, and performance packages like the AMG GT. Such products aren’t going away, as the upcoming launch of the GT XX-based supercar shows, but the brand is putting more of a focus on its more mainstream lines, like the GLC, GLE and CLS utility vehicles.
As part of the new growth plan they’re expected to generate around 55% of U.S. retail sales by 2030, up from 40% today, according to Chamberlain.
New models in the works
The 2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA.
Mercedes had a lull in product launches in 2024, stepping up the pace this year while preparing for a blitz to come. Among the latest addition, an all-new version of the little CLA set to start rolling into U.S. showrooms in December. Significantly, that makeover will include a mix of gas, hybrid and all-electric powertrain options.
After a slower-than-expected start to its EV program, Mercedes has decided to abandon the “EQ” nomenclature used for products like the EQS, an all-electric counterpart to the familiar S-Class. Other battery-electric products coming in 2026 include a version of the GLC crossover.
More Mercedes News
- Forward Into the Past With Mercedes Vision Iconic Concept
- Mercedes-AMG Sees Big Opportunities for Performance EVs
- Mercedes Bills the New CLA as a “Game-Changer”
New AMG GT
The AMG GT XX Concept is shown with its primary drive unit based on the new axial flux electric motor.
When production of its flagship AMG GT supercar ended in 2022, Mercedes left a big gap in its performance line-up. A replacement has long been expected and fans got a clear hint of what’s coming when AMG pulled the wraps off the GT XX Concept last June.
“The performance of the future is on its way,” the automaker said in a statement.
The concept featured a sleek, ultra-aerodynamic design with active aero elements including five carbon-fiber elements on the unique wheels. Depending upon how the prototype is being driven, they can move to reduce drag or to channel air to keep the brakes cool. But the most significant feature came with the debut of new axial flux motors developed by a British start-up Mercedes acquired four years earlier. They’re smaller, lighter, more efficient and significantly more powerful than the electric drive units that dominate the EV market today, the automaker claimed.
The new motor technology will reappear in the production four-door AMG GT, though Mercedes is only signaling that the electric sports car will make at least 1,000. In the show car it delivered an estimated 1,340 hp.
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