The end of a taxi era

By train to a foreign city, then quickly out of the station building and into a taxi. Many business trips were and still are like this. Even many a holiday begins this way. And what kind of car is standing at the taxi stand in your mind’s eye? At least for our German readers, the answer is probably “a Mercedes”. Yet the days when taxi drivers almost exclusively drove around Germany with a star on the bonnet are already a few years past. In fact, demand for B- and E-Class taxis has plummeted by around 75 percent. This has now prompted Mercedes-Benz to make an unusual and momentous decision: The upcoming new E-Class as well as the upcoming B-Class facelift are no longer available in taxi equipment. Even the current generation of the E-Class will no longer have this package. Taxi companies that still want to have a new Mercedes-Benz in their fleet will have to switch to the V-Class, Vito or the soon-to-be-launched T-Class.

A look back at the E-Class taxis

A good reason to look back in our picture gallery at the typical Mercedes-Benz saloons that once dominated the taxi stands. Although the mid-size W 114 series wasn’t yet officially called E-Class, it is nowadays regarded as a direct predecessor. In the first picture, it is still wearing the typical black, which was the color of taxis in Germany until 1971. Only then did it change to the light ivory still used today. This was often worn by the reliable successor models of the W 123 type, which drove through Germany until the late 1990s (and sometimes beyond). Today, many examples can still be found in African taxi service. With an extended wheelbase and fold-out additional seats, the V 123 was also available as a large-capacity taxi. The following W 124 also proved to be robust and, as a taxi, achieved mileages in excess of one million kilometers. As the quality of the following generations declined, the taxi companies began to look for competitors. And so the chapter of the E-Class as a taxi now comes to an end.

Letter from the German taxi trade to Mercedes-Benz

Dear Mr Källenius
It is with deep dismay that we have heard the efforts of the Mercedes passenger car division to say goodbye to the taxi trade. With the announcement that the new E-Class (W 214) (…) will no longer be offered as the model “The Taxi”, our trade has been completely surprised and deeply affected. The taxi industry and Mercedes have been close partners for over 70 years and Mercedes vehicles have been an integral part of the industry for over 100 years. Even emerging competition from other manufacturers with corresponding discounts and guarantees couldn’t have a lasting effect on the relationships that have grown over the years. In particular, the “bread and butter taxi”, the Mercedes E-Class, has never lost its importance, but has been able to maintain it for decades. (…) We take a very critical view of the idea of serving the taxi trade solely from the commercial vehicle segment with the Vito, V-Class and in future the T-Class. The models offered here can certainly replace the one or other E-Class, but by no means the majority. Especially when it comes to serving business customers, it is impossible to imagine the commercial sector without the E-Class.

Images: Mercedes-Benz