Only very few cars have shaped the automotive industry like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Drawing on 140 years of relentless innovation, it remains the benchmark for safety, comfort and engineering excellence. It is an icon that has carried icons, leaders, artists, innovators and more. A true sanctuary for legends. What Carl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler began was more than revolutionary mobility technology. It was a promise. And today, the new S-Class is proof of that.
The S-Class has always been the pinnacle of automotive engineering. When we do a new model, we really look at everything. This is the biggest refresh that we have ever done in the history of the S-Class. More than 2,700 parts have been either completely changed or refined.
It is not on this camouflaged vehicle, but it will be lit. So you will have that as a sculpture, a sculpture in your garden, prominently placed on the hood. Also, the whole grille has a new status-oriented, prestige look. Married with precise and intelligent new headlights. We have also redone the rear with new lights there. In the interior as well, every trim part, everything has been refined. This is taking sophisticated, understated luxury to the next level.
Justin, as far as the best seat in the car is concerned, normally I would say of course it is the driver's seat. But for the S-Class, I will make an exception to that rule. The back seat is the best seat in the car. And we have a special guest.
Hi Ola, great to see you. I am here in the most incredible new S-Class. It is so comfortable and it is just perfect. It is silent and everything you want it to be. I hope you get to experience it and I will see you soon. Bye-bye!
Well, if you want to make the world's best luxury sedan, it really starts with the basics. The ride needs to be perfect. It needs to be smooth. That you get the feeling of comfort that everything is just around you. You literally float above the ground. That is where it starts. It is also incredibly, incredibly quiet in this car. I do not know how many hours I have sat in the rear of an S-Class. You feel more refreshed when you step out of it than when you step in.
15 more exchanges in this transcript
Sign in free to read the rest of this interview. No card required.
Källenius, O. (2026, January 20). The new S-Class: Exclusive first look with CEO Ola Källenius [Interview transcript]. Mercedes-Benz and Justin Tse. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1004507/
MLA
Ola Källenius. "The new S-Class: Exclusive first look with CEO Ola Källenius." Mercedes-Benz and Justin Tse, 20 Jan. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1004507/.
BibTeX
@misc{kllenius2026_1004507,
author = {Ola Källenius},
title = {The new S-Class: Exclusive first look with CEO Ola Källenius},
howpublished = {Interview transcript, Mercedes-Benz and Justin Tse. CEOInterviews.AI},
year = {2026},
month = {jan},
url = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1004507/},
note = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}
