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Mercedes-Benz will introduce a bold new chrome grille design that will feature on its next-generation of electric vehicles, starting with the new electric GLC SUV that will be revealed at next month’s Munich motor show.

The new front-end design, which has been previewed with a teaser image, reinvents the classic radiator grille design that has featured on nearly every combustion-engined Mercedes model.

The new electric GLC, which is in effect a successor to the EQC, will sit alongside the existing combustion-engined version and is the first in a major product offensive by Mercedes-Benz as it abandons dedicated model names for its EVs.

The current design lineage dates to the 1900 Mercedes 35 PS, which featured an upright honeycomb grille to maximise cooling. Elements from that design, such as the distinct central kink on the angled grille, can be seen in current models, although aerodynamics has led the grilles to become far lower and wider.

Because the grille was developed purely for cooling that an EV doesn’t need, the first generation of electric Mercedes featured a different front-end design. But the next-generation electric models will introduce a more traditional grille that returns to a taller and more upright format. 

Mercedes-Benz boss Ola Källenius said the grille was originally “not a design choice, but form follows function”. He said the new design would ensure Mercedes could maintain its identity “in current times, with 100-plus Chinese firms” and others entering the market, and ensure it could carry “the calling card of Mercedes, the unmistakeable Mercedesness” into the future.

Without the need for a cooling function, the grille has been reinvented by Mercedes as an illuminated panel. The version that will appear on the new GLC EV will feature a chrome front – notably going against a wider industry trend to reduce the use of chrome styling elements – that is perforated with 942 small holes. Behind the panel are more than 100 LEDs, which enable the grille to light up in a variety of customisable ways. The central star logo is also illuminated, although the extent to which it is will be dependent on local regulations.

The illuminated grille will feature on all next-gen Mercedes models, although the design will vary slightly between them. The firm is also set to update its combustion models in the coming years, and given it has previously said their design language will 'merge', it is likely their radiator grille designs will change to match the new shape.