2026 Mercedes-Benz GLC With Production Lights Under Striking New Camouflage

Our photographers caught a Mercedes-Benz EQC prototype with a striking new camouflage that looks to draw attention toward it rather than hide its details. We get to see the production lights front and rear for the first time.
 

Mercedes-Benz made the wise decision to ditch the EQ branding and follow BMW in offering combustion and electric variants of its models under a unified name. To be fair, the EQ brand was already bankrupt after Mercedes-Benz botched the design, making EQ models particularly hard to sell. The upcoming GLC shows how the new strategy will work out, with the electric variant to be called Mercedes-Benz GLC with EQ Technology.
 
The internal discussions behind this change of strategy must have been heated, judging by how the GLC development evolved. Initially designed with a blander face, the GLC got a fresh makeover even before regular folks got the chance to see it uncamouflaged. In November, the prototype of the electric GLC appeared with a brand-new front fascia, taking everyone by surprise. As expected, the new face was shortly adopted by its cousin, the C-Class EV.
 

Besides the larger grille and the taller hood, the GLC prototype in the gallery sports production taillights for the first time. As predicted (and already seen on a CLA EV prototype in December 2024), the GLC will feature three-pointed-star-studded lights. These complement the similarly decorated headlights, which we also know from the CLA and previous GLC prototype sightings.
 
The production headlights are the highlight of the 2026 Mercedes-Benz GLC prototype, but attention gets stolen by its striking camouflage. That appears on purpose as Mercedes-Benz tries to bring the upcoming crossover into the spotlight. The German carmaker has done this trick before, including with the upcoming CLA, which was covered in silver-red camo for the 39th Festival d’Hyères last October.
 
This makes sense, as the GLC is more important for the brand than its smaller brother. Mercedes-Benz has already confirmed the all-electric model, dubbed “GLC With EQ Technology,” would arrive in 2026 to replace the discontinued EQC. The EQC has been the only EQ-branded model that proved popular with customers, which makes the all-electric GLC even more important.
 

Although the GLC EV will share the name with the combustion-engine variant, the two models will have very few things in common. This is expected, considering the electric crossover will be based on the MB.EA architecture, like the all-electric C-Class. This highly efficient, 800-volt architecture would give Mercedes-Benz a fighting chance against the Tesla Model Y and the Porsche Macan/Audi Q6 e-tron duo.
 
Expect most trims to feature a dual-motor configuration, although an RWD variant should not be excluded as the entry point. Thanks to the new architecture, the range should be much higher than the 255 miles (410 km) provided by the EQC. A 320-mile (515 km) range should be the bare minimum if Mercedes-Benz wants to make the GLC more than a compliance EV.