Will debut at the 2016 Beijing Motor Show.
Mercedes-Benz has been testing a stretched version of the 2016 Mercedes E-Class for quite some time now. In the latest, IAB reader Nitin has spotted an engineering mule undergoing hot weather testing in Dubai.
Earlier reports said that these stretched version test mules are of the Mercedes-Maybach E-Class. However, Ola Kallenius, member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible for Mercedes-Benz Cars Marketing & Sales, confirmed in an interview last month that the company doesn't plan to introduce a Mercedes-Maybach E-Class. If and when Mercedes-Maybach adds more models to its range, they'll be top-end models.
The test mule spied by the IAB reader in Dubai is actually a long-wheelbase version of the 2016 Mercedes E-Class that will be unveiled at 2016 Auto China (2016 Beijing Motor Show) in Beijing next week. With a length of 4,923 mm, the fifth generation Mercedes E-Class (W213) is 43 mm longer than the fourth generation Mercedes E-Class. The all-new Mercedes E-Class long-wheelbase will be 140 mm longer than the all-new (standard wheelbase) Mercedes E-Class, and thus, have a length of 5,063 mm.
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Daimler says that the Mercedes E-Class long-wheelbase will offer a considerably larger footwell area and seats with a host of comfort functions, and that the interior has been reinterpreted for China. The Mercedes E-Class long-wheelbase will be locally built in China and go on sale this year. According to reports, India will also get the stretched E-Class, in 2017.
