Midsize automobiles are getting a facelift. Luxury auto company Mercedes-Benz has announced its plans to enter the midsize market by the end of the decade.
With the midsize pickup market gaining traction, Mercedes-Benz believes the segment will be a promising one. According to IHS Automotive, a global research group, the demand for pickup trucks has peaked in 2013 and there will be a continued demand. Additionally, sales are expected to increase to 2.83 million by 2020.
As the pickup market undergo changes, along with more and more consumers using pickup trucks for private purposes, the luxury automobile company believes the pickup trucks should employ car-like specifications.
The company did not disclose much detail, but thus far it has been announced the truck will carry a payload of approximately 2,200 pounds (one metric ton). Consumers can expect either four-or six-cylinder engines. The luxury car company will be targeting the Latin American, South African, Australian, and European market for its debut. There are no current plans for a midsize Mercedes-Benz launch in the United States.
In a press release, Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars Division, said, “The Mercedes-Benz pickup will contribute nicely to our global growth targets. 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.”
The vehicle will be created under the Mercedes-Benz Vans division.
Volker Mornhinweg, Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans, added, “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.”
Mercedes-Benz is slated to become the first luxury car manufacturer to respond to the shift in the midsize market by developing its own pickup.
In the past, the German manufacturer was successful in introducing the M-Class roughly 20 years ago, which was said to completely redefine the segment.
(Cover photo via Wall Hud, Sketch via Wall Street Journal)
