Mercedes Planning on Building a Pickup Truck?
In the weirdest and most unrelated news we’ve heard in quite some time, Mercedes is planning on building a midsize pickup truck. Yes, you read that right, for some unknown reason to the rest of the world, Mercedes-Benz, the people known for the S-Class Maybach, are planning on building a pickup and putting it into production by the end of this decade.
However, before everyone starts inundating their local Mercedes dealer for a G-Class like pickup with AMG badges, Mercedes has already stated that if it does make it to production, the United States won’t be part of the truck’s market. This though, seems completely ridiculous since the U.S. is truckland.
Here’s the full press release:
Get ready for the Mercedes-Benz among pickups: Mercedes-Benz Vans to launch midsize pickup
Stuttgart, Mar 27, 2015
Expansion of product range for sustained global growth
Market for midsize pickups primed for first model from a premium manufacturer
Mercedes-Benz to enter the high-volume midsize segment before end of decade
Main markets: Latin America, South Africa, Australia, and EuropeStuttgart – Before the end of the decade, Mercedes-Benz will expand its product range into a promising segment by launching the first pickup from a premium manufacturer. Thanks to their versatility, all-round utility, and payload of about one metric ton, pickups are popular across the world and thus have good sales potential.
“The Mercedes-Benz pickup will contribute nicely to our global growth targets,” says Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars Division. “We will enter this segment with our distinctive brand identity and all of the vehicle attributes that are typical of the brand with regard to safety, comfort, powertrains, and value.”
Volker Mornhinweg, Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans, adds: “As part of our ‘Mercedes-Benz Vans goes global’ strategy, the pickup is the ideal vehicle for the international expansion of our product range with a newly developed model.”
A promising segment with global scope
The midsize pickup segment is currently undergoing a transformation worldwide. More and more pickups are being used for private purposes, and commercial as well as private users are increasingly asking for vehicles that have car-like specificiations. Mercedes-Benz is the first premium manufacturer to respond to this market shift by developing its own pickup. A similar example was the successful introduction of the M-Class around 20 years ago. As the first sport utility vehicle (SUV) from a premium manufacturer, the M-Class completely redefined the segment.
The new Mercedes-Benz pickup will initially be targeted at markets in Latin America, South Africa, Australia, and Europe, all of which are posting sustained growth in this segment.
Mercedes-Benz Vans: Center of competence for commercially and privately used vehicles
The Mercedes-Benz Vans division is responsible for the new vehicle. With its many years of experience in developing, manufacturing, and marketing vehicles that are used commercially as well as privately, Mercedes-Benz Vans is ideally suited to enter the midsize pickup segment and launch a Mercedes-Benz pickup on the market for the first time in the company’s history. Current models such as the V-Class and the Vito demonstrate that Mercedes-Benz Vans has the high level of expertise to successfully serve customers from a wide variety of private and commercial sectors.
“We can perfectly serve customers looking for a vehicle that offers a high level of utility and at the same time has the comfort, safety, and design of a Mercedes-Benz passenger car,” says Mornhinweg. “We will design our brand’s first pickup according to this recipe for success.”
We will have to see if this all works out. But in the meantime, please go to your local Mercedes dealer and start whining about wanting one so that we can actually get them here in the States.