Spied: Plug-in C-Class Coming to a Socket Near You

The automotive industry is moving toward electrification like Walmart shoppers moving through the doors at 5 a.m. on Black Friday. Thanks to tightening EPA regulations, there’s a lot of pressure to get more plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles on the roads, but only so much can be done given the constraints of the time-space continuum. The W205 C-Class is not immune to this impending wave of electrification, as demonstrated by these spy shots of C-Class sedan and wagon plug-in prototypes.

We expect the plug-in C-Class to get a four-cylinder engine paired with an electric motor programmed to offer multiple diving modes such as full electric, hybrid and gas-only.

The plug-in hybrid C-Class should debut this year as a 2015 model.

Having a C-Class plug-in hybrid in the marketplace will keep Mercedes-Benz competitive with BMW. Benz’s Bavarian competitor is currently developing a plug-in 3er, but the company already sells a hybrid 3 Series called the ActiveHybrid 3. So far Mercedes has reserved its hybrid technology for the E-Class and S-Class, which literally makes those cars large and in charge.