Mercedes' VLE 400 4MATIC undercuts the VLE 300's launch price
Mercedes rebuilt the VLE's price list, not just its drivetrain
Mercedes has opened order books in Germany for the VLE 400 4MATIC, the all-wheel-drive flagship of its electric Grand Limousine, and at the same time taken the range underneath it apart. Equipment that was compulsory at launch is now optional, a fourth trim package has been added, and the cheapest way into a VLE has dropped sharply since April.
The VLE 400 4MATIC makes 422 hp and 654 km of WLTP range
The 400 4MATIC adds a second motor on the rear axle for a system output of 422 hp, or 310 kW, and covers 0 to 100 km/h in 6.5 seconds. The battery is unchanged at 115 kWh usable, and Mercedes quotes a provisional WLTP range of up to 654 km on a consumption of 20.0 to 21.7 kWh per 100 km. It tows 2,500 kg braked with 100 kg on the ball, with ESP trailer stabilisation and a trailer manoeuvring assistant included. The front-drive VLE 300 manages 713 km on the same battery, so all-wheel drive costs 59 km.
A standard VLE 300 costs 11,525 euros less than it did in April
In Germany the five-seat VLE 400 4MATIC starts at 78,452.04 euros including VAT, and the six-seat version at 78,909 euros. The more revealing figure sits below it. When ordering opened on 15 April, Mercedes sold the VLE only in two richly equipped configurations and the entry price was 82,260 euros. A standard-equipment VLE 300 now starts at 70,735.39 euros as a five-seater and 71,187.59 euros as a six-seater. That is 11,524.61 euros below April, and it means the 422 hp all-wheel-drive flagship undercuts what the 276 hp front-drive car cost five months ago by 3,808 euros. Prices and order dates for other European markets have not been published.
AIRMATIC is now optional on a car sold as a Grand Limousine
None of that is a discount. Mercedes has moved equipment that used to be part of the deal onto the options list. AIRMATIC air suspension is the clearest case: it is still available, but a conventional comfort suspension now sits alongside it, on a car whose ride quality was the centrepiece of the March reveal. AC charging at 11 kW is the standard fit with 22 kW as an option, where the launch bundles included the faster onboard charger. The new Advanced pack, which adds 19-inch black gloss-turned alloys and darkened rear glass, makes four packages alongside Advanced Plus, Premium and Premium Plus.
On a 400-volt charger the VLE needs a 622-euro converter for 90 kW
The VLE runs an 800-volt system, takes up to 300 kW on DC and adds as much as 355 km in 15 minutes, which is the number Mercedes leads with. On a 400-volt charger, which still covers a large share of Europe's older networks and every Tesla Supercharger, it needs a DC-DC converter costing 622 euros, and even with that fitted it is limited to 90 kW. Bundled launch cars kept details like this out of sight. A buyer configuring from standard equipment has to find them.
The VLE went from two launch configurations to four packs in six months
Mercedes revealed the VLE on 10 March, opened orders on 15 April in two fixed high-specification configurations, and began production on 9 June. AMG Line and AMG Line Plus followed in July, joining the standard car and Exclusive. The Advanced pack and the standard-equipment cars arrive now, and a VLE 250 with an 80 kWh battery is due in 2027. In six months the VLE has gone from a car you took as Mercedes had built it to one with four trim lines, four packs and a real options list.
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The number that moved is not 422. It is 82,260, the price the VLE launched at, against the 70,735 it starts at today. Mercedes did not get there by discounting. It got there by lifting the air suspension, the 22 kW charger and the rest of the compulsory kit out of the base car, which is the oldest move in the premium playbook and, here, an admission. A vehicle pitched in March as a limousine that happens to have sliding doors was priced like one, and it has spent five months looking for a lower shelf.
The test arrives in 2027 with the VLE 250 and its 80 kWh battery. If it lands near where the 300 sits now, this was a price correction dressed as a range extension and the VLE's problem was never the equipment list. If it lands well below, Mercedes has a ladder in a segment where the volume is at the cheap end: Kia's PV5 was Europe's best-selling small electric van in the first half of this year. Sold in the same German price list, Hyundai's electric Staria starts at 57,450 euros with nine seats. A Grand Limousine you can order on conventional springs is a different pitch from the one Mercedes made in March, and it did not change the pitch for fun.
