rnpalmer

My dealer just told me July some time for launch. Anyone with a clue? Additionally I've recently seen pricing. Any idea on residuals or money factors as yet? Finally, My S580 has been sitting in port (Germany) since 4/9 with no ship assigned to it. I really haven't received a good explanation as to why so maybe some of you ladies and gentlemen can explain it to me. Cheers, RP

Vegas Benz

I ordered my car almost 2 weeks ago, 4-16, and the dealer had a build slot open for July, decade 1. It has already moved to decade 3 of July and the sales agent still can not price the car or print out a (P.O.) order confirmation as of yesterday afternoon.

My build is supposedly for a 22 model year. Many dealers websites including Mercedes own USA website still only have the 2020 in the build configurator. As far as I know you can not order a 2020 and the dealers are already taking orders for 2022's yet there is no clear pricing for all of the options or even specs like MPG. Some options have pricing like the Executive Nappa Leather. To add it to a S500 is $5,400, and to add it to a S580 is $3,110. That makes the difference between a S500 and a S580 not too much, but I would like to see the MPG's to help me decide. You would think they would hire a better web programmer.

There may be production, parts, and delivery issues, but Mercedes whole web presentation is seriously lacking.

mercedesmax

Mercedes last communication said launch sometime in June. We won't have lease info until next month.
As for ships, my guess is that since the VPC's will be full of new cars awaiting government approval for launch there is no point in bringing more cars over here.

johndong888

My dealer said june as well. New cars will almost always get tied up at VPC for a bit

ExBMWDriver

My S580 was built 4/14/21, loaded on the boat and arrived 5/1 in Baltimore. According to my dealer, they have been told to not expect customer delivery until July. They are all awaiting US Governmental Agencies approval certifying the model for the US Market. Then, according to the dealer, there will be a big transportation backlog getting them all to the dealers. That’s the info I received, we’ll see what happens.

TwinCam

Your dealer may have told you that the holdup is for some some sort of certification from the US Government, but the DOT and NHTSA do not require foreign manufacturers to submit new or redesigned models for “certification”. See item 01 and 02 from the government website: https://www.nhtsa.gov/importing-vehi...ification-faqs. The decision on the US launch date is an internal Mercedes decision, likely based on limited production capacity to supply cars for the US market. Countries like China, with a growing market for high end luxury cars, have been given priority for the 2021 S Class over the mature US market. Mercedes USA is advertising the 2021 S Class as available for summer, 2021. My dealer said that they were told that delivery will start in June. My car has been sitting at the Southeast VPC in Brunswick, Georgia, since February. It can’t be released to soon!

Wolfman

Yes and no. New models are regularly held up when new engines are implemented. That is EPA-driven, not DOT. Our then new 2018 E63s was sitting at VPC for over 6 months and AMG GTR models were sitting up to year. This had nothing to do with the launch of the cars. Cars were officially introduced, configured by customers, built and shipped and then sitting at port for release. MB ended up reimbursing many customers for their inconvenience.

That said, the W222 facelift launch was held up by MBUSA due to high existing car inventory and under full control of the company...

TwinCam

I just thought it was disingenuous of the dealer to blame the launch delay on the government not issuing certification for the new model. The fact that a number of 2021 S Class training cars are out on the road with state issued license plates confirms that the cars are in compliance with DOT and EPA regulations. Why can’t Mercedes just explain why the launch date is being delayed and give us a realistic delivery date for our cars? Most customers would understand a delay based on Covid shutdowns or the chip shortage…why the mystery? The constantly shifting launch date has aggravated a lot of customers and tarnishes the Mercedes image.

Vegas Benz

Great point.

mercedesmax

The Mercedes demo cars are licensed under a temporary arrangement.
New car prototypes are allowed into the US for a short period, usually 90 days.
They must be removed from the country or destroyed when their time is up.
When i worked for Volvo I witnessed pre production cars destroyed at the proving grounds. Volvo allowed local fire departments to practice vehicle entry with the jaws of life to extract crash victims.
Most cars are shipped back home when they are done testing.

mercedesmax

The actual process is that the manufacturer certifies their car meets all current regulations. The feds then go over the paperwork and if in order allow the importation and sale.
This process has gone on for decades. Normally, the gov't operates more quickly but in the last couple of years their process has gone slower.
The new EPA testing regimen has been blamed for this.
Mercedes wants these cars out. Most everything in the VPC is presold. Having these cars languish in the ports does Mercedes no good.

TwinCam

I find it difficult to believe that the EPA is holding up the launch of the 2021 S Class. Mercedes and the EPA have not mentioned it. No National car magazines, newspapers or on line reviewers have mentioned any government delay, and it would be big news if the EPA to delayed the launch for more than 10 months over reviewing paperwork. Any other manufacturers having a similar delay? I haven’t heard of any. But other car manufacturers are reporting delays based on the chip shortage and Covid shutdowns. Mercedes is not going to piecemeal out orders to customers while not having enough cars for dealer showrooms…imho. The only one talking about the US launch is Mercedes, and they say it is coming in summer of 2021 (not pending EPA approval). The EPA is not responsible for Mercedes taking so long to show the car on the MBUSA website, they took forever to remove the slow selling 2020 model and the “build” feature still lacks pricing and many options. Mercedes is selling every 2021 S Class that they can make for China, Europe and Asia, leaving few cars for the US market. It would not make marketing sense to “launch” the car here and then not be able to deliver for 10 months or more. I ordered my car back in September without pricing knowing it would be many months before I would see it. Mercedes was not advertising the car for sale in the US, they were taking orders because customers wanted to replace their cars coming off of lease and customers did not want the 2020 models. Mercedes was not going to to turn a customer coming off of lease over to BMW or some other luxury car manufacturer, so they took orders knowing they did not have the production capacity. If anyone has any published reports stating that the S Class launch is being delayed by the EPA or any other government agency, please post it here. That kind of news would get out quickly, Washington has no secrets!

Germancar1

There is nothing for them to "mention" it is a normal practice to anyone selling cars in the U.S. Why would the EPA mention one car when they're involved in testing every car that goes on sale here? No it wouldn't be big news, it's a normal thing. The truth is only MBUSA really knows why the car is held up, or even if it is. I don't get why you guys obsess over this so much. You are never going to get an official explanation or know why anything is or isn't happening. It's pointless. The EPA is not going to say anything, neither is Mercedes. The car will be launched when it's launched. They don't owe anyone a launch date and they didn't promise a specific one.

M

Vegas Benz

They actually did say "The new S-Class will arrive at U.S. dealerships in mid-2021" on the MBUSA website. There are other brand options (although Mercedes is my first choice) but if information points to a significant delay, some of us might explore other options.

TwinCam

I beg to differ with Germancar1. I have had a 2021 S Class on order since September with an initial delivery quote of mid January. My car has been built and has been sitting In Brunswick, Georgia since mid February. I have had estimated delivery dates from the dealer of mid March followed by June, with no explanation for the delays. I don’t consider it “obsessing so much” to ask why, after 8 months, is my car delayed and when will I get it. I believe that Mercedes owes their valuable customers an answer. I don’t like my new car sitting out in a lot for months on end and I have a right to question what the hell is Mercedes doing? To say they “don’t owe anyone a launch date”, is not acceptable nor is it good business.

aceman

FWIW,

My dealer told me the cars are sitting at the port waiting for chips...who knows at this point what the truth is...

Aceman

js_cls

My local dealer also told me this, as they have 10 S-Class' sitting at the port. The manager I spoke to also said they haven't received EPA MPG estimates yet and he believes that may have part to do with it, but I'm not familiar with the requirements/rules regarding that.

Vegas Benz

The UK Mercedes Benz site now has a configurator mode and at the end lists the specs. The MPG are a WLTP standard and appear much different to the USA's EPA standard. If anyone is familiar with the two standards, I wonder how the below numbers would compare with EPA? These are for the 6 cylinder 3L S500.

• Fuel consumption low [2]
  20.7 mpg
• Fuel consumption medium [2]
  32.9 mpg
• Fuel consumption high [2]
  38.2 mpg
• Fuel consumption extra high [2]
  35.4 mpg
• Fuel consumption combined [2]
  32.5 mpg

gravytrain007

The best wife a husband can have. My wife presented my with a build sheet for my S580(AMG Line) last night. She ordered in Nov. to be my Christmas gift due in January. Then it got pushed back to March but like everyone else, the delivery has been delayed again until June/July. The rep told her yesterday that MB wants to release the preorders along with the dealer supplies. Man, I’m really salivating over here. She truly surprised me with the build

190Efan

My hunch is that this is likely the problem. I don't know why MB is having such a problem admitting this and is instead leaving customers hanging.

TwinCam

I also think that the problem is the chip shortage and the majority of the S Class cars getting the chips are going to China, where Mercedes car sales are up 60% over the same quarter last year.

mercedesmax

It means the EPA hasn't signed off on the car yet. No EPA clearance no car release

Wolfman

If memory serves, Mercedes initially mentioned the W223 availability in the US as late spring 2021. When your car was built or what the Netstar system says for delivery is unfortunately irrelevant. Those dates just reflect the scheduling/build/delivery logistics and are secondary to the launch date of the car.

Germancar1

It's May, mid 2021 could mean May, Jun, July.

M

Germancar1

Did a salesman tell you that? What makes you guys think there is a delay? It certainly isn't an 8 month delay. You're just exaggerating at this point. You're creating an issue when there really isn't one. I don't know why anyone would tell you January 2021 when this car was never intended to be delivered then. It's dealership misinformation and with each passing post here it gets worse. I would go around the dealer and call MBUSA directly. Every car company right now is having some sort of delay that is the world we live in. If they come back and tell you a chip shortage or some other reason, then what? It doesn't change anything with the actual delay.

M