In the automotive world, trends come and go with the changing winds of consumer preferences. One such trend that appears to be approaching its twilight is the coupe-style SUV – those curious crossbreeds featuring traditional SUV underpinnings paired with dramatically sloping rooflines. The very vehicles that were once hailed as innovative disruptors in the luxury market are now facing an uncertain future, with Mercedes-Benz leading the retreat and other German manufacturers potentially following suit.
The Rise and Fall of the Coupe SUV
When BMW unveiled the X6 in 2008, automotive purists scoffed at what seemed like an unholy matrimony between SUV utility and sports coupe styling. The vehicle was derided as ungainly and impractical – sacrificing rear headroom and cargo space on the altar of unconventional aesthetics. Yet, against all odds, it found its audience.
The success of the X6 prompted Mercedes-Benz to follow with the GLE Coupe in 2015, and soon after with the smaller GLC Coupe. Audi joined the fray with its Q8 in 2018. For a while, these vehicles carved out a profitable niche in the luxury market, appealing to buyers who wanted something more distinctive than conventional SUVs but with higher seating positions than traditional coupes.
Fast forward to 2025, and the landscape is shifting dramatically. According to recent reports, Mercedes-Benz is planning to discontinue both the GLC Coupe and GLE Coupe by 2026. Industry insiders suggest that these models account for just 10-15% of their respective model line sales, raising questions about their long-term viability.
“The automaker’s goal to simplify its lineup has also seen it drop the A-Class sedan and the S-Class coupe,” notes industry publication CarsDirect, highlighting a broader strategy of streamlining vehicle offerings in an increasingly complex market.
Mercedes Leads the Retreat
Mercedes appears to be taking the lead in reassessing the value proposition of these niche vehicles. According to German newspaper Handelsblatt, the manufacturer is debating whether to eliminate its coupe SUVs entirely or merge them into a single, more focused offering.
This mirrors the company’s earlier strategy of combining the coupe and convertible versions of the C-Class and E-Class into the new CLE model. The upcoming electric GLC-sized SUV, scheduled for debut in 2026, will reportedly not feature a coupe variant, further signaling the end of Mercedes’ experiment with sloped-roof utility vehicles.
What’s particularly telling is that the retreat comes despite both the GLC Coupe and GLE Coupe being relatively fresh models, having received updates in the past two years. Yet sales figures tell the story – the GLE Coupe has reportedly seen nearly a 50% drop in sales, making its continued production increasingly difficult to justify.
BMW’s Mixed Signals
While Mercedes prepares to exit the segment, longtime rival BMW presents a more complex picture. The Bavarian manufacturer, which pioneered the category, has committed to replacing the petrol X4 with an electric iX4 in late 2026, suggesting some continued faith in the format, albeit in electrified form.
However, BMW’s broader strategy remains ambiguous. The company is navigating a challenging sales environment with some of its current coupe SUVs still performing reasonably well despite market headwinds. The manufacturer appears to be hedging its bets, potentially shifting focus toward electric powertrains rather than abandoning the body style altogether.
“BMW has seen growth in sales of its X4 and X6 models,” one automotive publication notes, suggesting that BMW may be more reluctant than Mercedes to completely abandon a segment it created. Nevertheless, the broader industry shift toward electrification may ultimately determine the fate of these models regardless of their current performance.
Audi’s Cautious Approach
Audi, the third member of Germany’s luxury triumvirate, has taken a more cautious approach to the segment. While it offers the Q8 as its flagship SUV with a slightly sloping roofline, it never fully embraced the extreme coupe styling of its competitors.
The Q8 represents a more subtle interpretation of the concept, balancing style with practicality. However, even Audi appears to be reconsidering its SUV strategy in light of challenging market conditions. Recent reports indicate that sales of the Q8 dropped by 24% in 2024, suggesting that even more conservative approaches to the coupe-SUV formula may be losing their appeal.
Meanwhile, Audi continues to invest heavily in its electric vehicle lineup, including the Q4 e-tron, Q6 e-tron, and Q8 e-tron models, signaling a pivot toward electrification rather than body style innovation as its primary differentiation strategy.
Market Realities Driving Change
Several factors appear to be driving this retreat from coupe-style SUVs. First is the simple reality of sales numbers. Despite commanding significant price premiums over their conventional counterparts – sometimes approaching $200,000 in the case of Mercedes – these vehicles simply don’t sell in sufficient volumes to justify their continued development as standalone models.
Second is the broader industry shift toward electrification. As automakers invest billions in developing new electric platforms, the business case for maintaining niche combustion-engine variants becomes increasingly difficult to justify.
“With the standard SUVs becoming more aerodynamic, Coupe SUVs could find themselves becoming redundant,” notes automotive website Team-BHP, highlighting how the inherent design requirements of electric vehicles naturally lead to more streamlined shapes, potentially eliminating one of the few practical advantages of coupe-style SUVs.
Finally, changing consumer preferences play a significant role. The initial novelty of these vehicles has worn off, and many buyers have come to recognize the practical compromises they entail. Limited rear headroom, reduced cargo capacity, and visibility challenges are significant drawbacks that become increasingly difficult to ignore once the initial styling appeal fades.
The Premium Price of Style
One of the most controversial aspects of coupe SUVs has always been their pricing strategy. These vehicles typically command substantial premiums over their standard SUV counterparts despite offering less practical utility.
In the Mercedes lineup, for instance, the GLC Coupe commands approximately $170,000 more than the regular GLC, while the GLE Coupe carries a nearly $190,000 premium over the standard GLE. These price differences have become increasingly difficult to justify to consumers who are becoming more value-conscious in an uncertain economic environment.
Even enthusiasts who initially embraced these vehicles for their distinctive styling have begun to question the value proposition, especially as more traditional SUVs have adopted sportier design elements without the same practical compromises.
The Future of Premium SUVs
As German manufacturers reassess their coupe-SUV strategies, the future of premium SUVs appears to be moving in two distinct directions. First, traditional SUVs are becoming more dynamic and aesthetically pleasing, incorporating many of the design elements that made coupe variants stand out without sacrificing practicality.
Second, the industry-wide shift toward electrification is creating entirely new vehicle categories that blur the lines between traditional segments. Many electric SUVs feature sleek, aerodynamic profiles that capture some of the visual appeal of coupe-style vehicles while actually enhancing rather than compromising functionality.
BMW’s strategy of transitioning the X4 to the electric iX4 exemplifies this approach, suggesting that while the coupe-SUV concept may be waning in its current form, elements of its design language will live on in the electric era.
Legacy of Innovation
Despite their apparent decline, coupe-style SUVs have left an indelible mark on automotive design. They pushed boundaries, challenged conventions, and forced both critics and defenders to reconsider what defines vehicle categories.
When BMW unveiled the X6, few could have predicted that it would spawn an entire segment across multiple manufacturers. Even fewer would have guessed that prestigious brands like Porsche, with the Cayenne Coupe, and Lamborghini, with the Urus, would eventually embrace similar concepts.
The willingness to defy convention and create vehicles that prioritize emotional appeal over practical considerations has influenced how manufacturers approach design across their lineups. Today’s SUVs are far more stylish and dynamically focused than their predecessors, in no small part due to the influence of these controversial trailblazers.
The Final Verdict
As Mercedes prepares to bid farewell to its coupe-style SUVs and other German manufacturers reassess their commitments to the segment, we are witnessing not so much the failure of a concept but rather its evolution into something new.
The coupe-SUV was always a transitional vehicle – a bridge between the practical demands of modern life and the emotional desire for something more distinctive than conventional offerings. As the automotive industry undergoes its most profound transformation in over a century, such transitional concepts inevitably give way to more forward-looking alternatives.
For enthusiasts who embraced these vehicles, plenty of examples will remain on the road and in the used market for years to come. For critics who questioned their purpose from the beginning, the market appears to be validating their skepticism, at least in part.
What remains undeniable is that the coupe-style SUV experiment forced the entire industry to rethink the boundaries of vehicle design – a legacy that will continue to influence automotive development long after the last new example rolls off the production line.
In an industry driven by constant innovation and reinvention, today’s revolutionary concept inevitably becomes tomorrow’s footnote. The coupe-SUV appears destined for this fate – not forgotten, but gradually supplanted by designs that more effectively balance the competing demands of style, practicality, and environmental responsibility.
Whether this represents progress or merely changing fashion is a question each enthusiast must answer for themselves. What’s certain is that the automotive landscape continues to evolve, and German manufacturers are once again leading the way – this time, by knowing when to move on.
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