2026 Mercedes GLB spied out on test

Mercedes’ range of next-generation cars based on its new MMA platform is starting to take shape, and the latest model we’ve spotted testing is the replacement for the GLB SUV. 

While the model spied here looks to use an internal-combustion engine, the next GLB will be offered as an EV, too, thanks to MMA’s multi-fuel approach. 

MMA (Mercedes Modular Architecture) will underpin all of the firm’s new compact cars, and will be seen first on the upcoming CLA – which we’ve already had a ride in.

Mercedes provided us with a preview to its future MMA-based line-up back in 2023, and we know the CLA will be followed by two SUVs and a shooting brake estate. One of those SUVs is the model spied on test, which we would expect to be fully revealed by the end of 2025 ahead of a probable on-sale date in 2026. 

Unlike the CLA, which will arrive as an EV in 2025 before a petrol hybrid version comes to the market in 2026, we suspect the GLB successor may come with hybrid and fully electric power from launch. The petrol hybrid is likely to be a development of the existing 1.3-litre mild-hybrid unit found in the current A-Class, where it produces 134bhp or 163bhp. 

We suspect the pure-electric EQB replacement will come exclusively with an 85kWh battery and dual-motor, all-wheel-drive set-up, even though the new CLA will have the option of a 58kWh, single-motor, rear-wheel-drive configuration. The maximum range expected of the CLA is around 466 miles, but with its heavier, larger body, the new EQB will fall somewhat short of that figure. 

Although the images show the GLB successor here in full camouflage, there are a few glimpses of Mercedes’ new design language. The front end is sleeker than the current GLB’s, and the car will incorporate a new three-pointed star headlight signature – something we saw on the Concept CLA Class in 2023. 

The blocky proportions of the GLB and EQB will be retained to help set the new model apart from the more rounded GLA. This should deliver plenty of space in the back and possibly even allow for seven seats to continue to be offered. 

The rear, meanwhile, sports some fake lights with the real ones positioned on the corners.

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