When you think of a Mercedes-Benz, scenes of rugged vehicles hauling heavy loads across rough terrain probably don’t come to mind… yet. That might change with the launch of Daimler’s first Mercedes-Benz pickup truck, which the company is planning to launch by 2020.
After moving into the SUV world in recent years, it seems Mercedes-Benz is ready to take on the rough world of pickup trucks.
“Years ago, SUVs used to be, well, rough,” Volker Mornhinweg, head of Mercedes-Benz Vans, told the Wall Street Journal. “Then they became prettier. Now, we see the same trend in pickup trucks. We see opportunities to enter this market as the first premium brand.”
The midsize truck will be able to carry about 2,200 pounds and comes with four- or six-cylinder engines, and two rows of seats. It’ll also feature many of the interior design elements as other Mercedes-Benz vehicles, with a luxury version including leather interior and chrome furnishings available.
But because Americans are perhaps a bit possessive of the pickup truck, the brand hasn’t yet decided if it will sell the midsize vehicle in the U.S. Instead, the company will be focusing on European, Latin American, Australian and South African markets.
At the very least, a full-size pickup won’t be competing against the big American players anytime soon, says Mornhinweg, not with Ford Motor Co.’s F-150 and General Motors Co.’s Silverado and Chrysler’s Ram on the market.
“The full-size segment is too specific for the U.S. It’s not a global market,” he told the Wall Street Journal. “And it’s dominated by the Big Three. It makes no sense to go there.”
Mercedes-Benz Outlines a Luxury Pickup for Europe, South America [Wall Street Journal]
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist
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