Mercedes Explains Why the X-Class Pickup Won’t Come to US
The premium mid-sized pickup market is a “conundrum,” Mercedes boss says.
Speaking to a group of journalists at the Geneva Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz boss Dieter Zetsche revealed why the X-Class pickup wouldn't be making its way stateside, Motor1 reports. This news comes just several weeks after the German automaker announced it was conducting research in the US to determine whether a viable business case could be made for launching the mid-sized premium pickup here.
Zetsche claimed that the problem was because X-Class would be a "near-luxury" vehicle, it wouldn't go over so well in the American truck market. Referring to the Mercedes pickup, Zetsche said, "So clearly it’s premium and not cheap, but clearly not expensive either." He added, "At that point of time, there is no plan to introduce it in the U.S. market. The main argument being that in the U.S. market, the premium pickup truck is a full-size pickup truck, and the premium midsize is somewhat of a conundrum."
And what a conundrum it is—the sole member of the lonely premium mid-sized pickup market is the GMC Canyon All-Terrain X, a pricey pickup which soars well into the $40,000 range.
Of course, if the market conditions change, the X-Class may eventually come stateside, Zetsche said.
