Mercedes-Benz announces new nomenclature for models, engines

German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz has plans to have a line-up of more than 30 models worldwide by the year 2020. With a number of new models being added to the existing portfolio, the company's nomenclature needed to be reworked on more logical lines with the aim of providing clear orientation for customers.

The model designation is always an acronym made up of between one and three upper-case letters. The different types of engine are indicated by a lower-case letter. The system is based on the five core models - A, B, C, E and S.

With the SUV line-up, all models will carry with letters "GL" in their name. The current GL will be called the GLS and will sit at the top pf the range alongside the S-Class. The ML will be renamed as GLE (in line with the E-Class), while the GLK will be called GLC (in line with the C-Class). The GLA, which is based on the A-Class already sports the new system and will retain its badging. The iconic G-Class will also remain untouched.

The four door coupe model - CLS and CLA will also continue unchanged. However, the two models are likely to get Shooting Brake variants called the CLS Shooting Brake and CLA Shooting Brake respectively. 

The two models in the company's roadster line-up will carry the letters "SL". While the range-topping legendary SL continues unchanged, the SLK will be renamed as SLC.

Apart from the model line-up, Mercedes-Benz has also revamped its engine designations. The new designations are shorter than the current ones and will feature in lower case letters. Here's a quick look at the new designations:

• c for "compressed natural gas" (Natural Gas Drive until now)
• d for "diesel" (BlueTEC and CDI until now)
• e for "electric" (PLUG-IN HYBRID, BlueTEC PLUG-IN HYBRID and Electric Drive until now)
• f for "fuel cell" (F-CELL until now)
• h for "hybrid" (HYBRID and BlueTEC HYBRID until now)

There will be no suffixes for the petrol modes. Models feature all-wheel drive systems will continue with the 4-MATIC moniker.