V8-powered models of many of the brands’ models won’t be made available until 2022.
Mercedes nearly all its V8 models in America were killed off when the news broke last month. Mercedes initially suggested that global supply chain problems were the cause, which was plausible. A new report from Road and Track confuses the matter. It quotes Philipp Scheimer, AMG boss, as saying that engines were canceled due to “quality issues”.
Scheimer wouldn’t go into detail, but he said that Mercedes was not satisfied with its quality and that it is doing some retesting. The issue does not affect all models in every market. This makes it difficult to understand the reasons behind the company’s decision. The brand’s AMG performance brand is built around powerful V8 engines. It was therefore surprising that they pulled them from the US market.
The V8-powered will continue to be available. Aston Martin uses Mercedes-supplied V8 engine. The company informed Road and Track in August that Mercedes’ suspension would not impact British brands’ products. They use the 4.0-liter V8 from the German automaker.
Road and Track are correct that the most likely explanation for sales stoppages is a compliance problem. Mercedes stated in its original statement that it was focusing on meeting “various global and external requirements.” We don’t know the details of that process.
This is a bizarre situation that Mercedes is not open about. We hope that the company will resolve the issue quickly so we can find out the full story. It is still strange that Mercedes has taken out nearly all its V8 engines suddenly and without warning.