Speaking at the Frankfurt Motor Show with the peeps from Autocar, Daimler AG chairman Dieter Zetsche ruled out the possibility of Mercedes-Benz to develop a rival for BMW's MINI or Audi's A1 in the following years.
There have been numerous reports in the recent year which suggested that Daimler's friendliness towards the Renault-Nissan alliance might also bring a sub-A-Class model based on either the current generation of the Renault Clio or Mercedes' own shortened MFA (Modular Front Architecture) platform.
“It’s clear that there’s an opportunity for a supermini. Such a car would offer plenty of volume for us, but it would also be tough to make profit from. For now, I don’t see a need for us to go that way,” Zetsche said, quoted by Autocar.
Not wanting to sound like the boy who cried wolf, the magic mustache man also mentioned that “further down the line, it’s a possibility.” In other words, depending on market conditions, a model situated between the upcoming smart forfour and the successful A-Class W176 may or may not appear. We incline more towards "may", than "may not", but maybe that's just us.
“It’s clear that there’s an opportunity for a supermini. Such a car would offer plenty of volume for us, but it would also be tough to make profit from. For now, I don’t see a need for us to go that way,” Zetsche said, quoted by Autocar.
Not wanting to sound like the boy who cried wolf, the magic mustache man also mentioned that “further down the line, it’s a possibility.” In other words, depending on market conditions, a model situated between the upcoming smart forfour and the successful A-Class W176 may or may not appear. We incline more towards "may", than "may not", but maybe that's just us.