German Chancellor Friedrich Merz visited the IAA Motor Show in Munich and had an unpleasant surprise at the Mercedes stand. The front hood, which is operated by pressing the logo on the bonnet, could not be opened.
On September 9, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz paid a visit to the IAA Munich auto show to demonstrate his support for the German car industry, which is facing major challenges on several fronts.
As expected, Chancellor Merz was greeted by Mercedes CEO Ola Källenius, who wanted to show him an interesting feature of the new Mercedes GLC EV: the way the front hood opens, revealing the very spacious 128-liter frunk underneath. The hood is opened by pressing the Mercedes logo on the bonnet.
Only, at the very moment Ola Källenius tried to open the hood this way, it didn’t open. Källenius tried several times, but without success. Finally, he told Chancellor Merz: “You have to believe me.”
I was at the Munich show myself and tested this feature on the exact same car on Sunday evening, September 7, at the world premiere of the model, and the hood opened without any problems.
So, what happened in the meantime? Why didn’t the hood open anymore? A Mercedes official told the German agency dpa that it was not a malfunction of the car. It was simply that someone at the stand had accidentally activated the hood lock. That’s why it could no longer be opened.
Still, for Ola Källenius it was an awkward situation, as he was unable to present to the German Chancellor this second, very generous storage space.
The front frunk has a capacity of 128 liters, large enough to hold not only the charging cables but also two travel bags. By comparison, the new BMW iX3 has a much smaller frunk, just 58 liters. However, the BMW does have a cover for the frunk, while the Mercedes does not.
