Photo: Mercedes-Benz
It's common knowledge that over in the US people have a different perception over the size of cars, with what is considered "compact" in Europe passing as "pretty tiny" over the pond.
And even though America has its share of crowded cities and congested traffic, people still don't find the idea of owning a smallish car that appealing. Mercedes-Benz knew this all too well, and they also knew the first generation A-Class was too weird-looking to ever catch on in the US.
This new generation launched in 2012, however, changed that "old man's car" look and finally made the A-Class exciting. The compact hatchback from Mercedes-Benz has recently gone through a facelift, with the rest of the range expected to follow suit shortly. That means this current generation has reached the mid-point of its life and work has already started on the new model.
What's more, the number of sales in the compact range have taken by surprise even the most optimistic people at Mercedes-Benz, jumping from just 226,000 units in 2012 to 463,000 in 2014. It's true, in those few years in between more models were added to the lineup that boosted sales considerably.
Models such as the CLA four-door coupe, a car that's already on sale in the US and whose nice selling figures must have convinced the people at Mercedes-Benz the time is right to bring in the rest of the range as well. With such promising numbers, Mercedes-Benz must think it's time it gave the US market a chance to sample the full spectre of its compact range. According to Detroit Motor Bureau, that will most likely happen with the next A-Class model, the current generation's replacement.
Mercedes-Benz is also heavily investing in the US infrastructure, with only a few days since the announcement of a 1.3 billion dollars update for the Alabama plant.
However, when the A-Class finally makes it into the US, it will probably be built at the Aguas Caliente plant in Mexico, as part of the joint venture with the Renault/Nissan Alliance. As you might already know, the A-Class platform will also be used for Nissan's premium division Infiniti and their Q30. The Japanese model is expected to begin production in 2017, but there's no clear word yet on when any Mercedes-Benz model will make it out of the assembly line.
This new generation launched in 2012, however, changed that "old man's car" look and finally made the A-Class exciting. The compact hatchback from Mercedes-Benz has recently gone through a facelift, with the rest of the range expected to follow suit shortly. That means this current generation has reached the mid-point of its life and work has already started on the new model.
What's more, the number of sales in the compact range have taken by surprise even the most optimistic people at Mercedes-Benz, jumping from just 226,000 units in 2012 to 463,000 in 2014. It's true, in those few years in between more models were added to the lineup that boosted sales considerably.
Models such as the CLA four-door coupe, a car that's already on sale in the US and whose nice selling figures must have convinced the people at Mercedes-Benz the time is right to bring in the rest of the range as well. With such promising numbers, Mercedes-Benz must think it's time it gave the US market a chance to sample the full spectre of its compact range. According to Detroit Motor Bureau, that will most likely happen with the next A-Class model, the current generation's replacement.
Mercedes-Benz is also heavily investing in the US infrastructure, with only a few days since the announcement of a 1.3 billion dollars update for the Alabama plant.
However, when the A-Class finally makes it into the US, it will probably be built at the Aguas Caliente plant in Mexico, as part of the joint venture with the Renault/Nissan Alliance. As you might already know, the A-Class platform will also be used for Nissan's premium division Infiniti and their Q30. The Japanese model is expected to begin production in 2017, but there's no clear word yet on when any Mercedes-Benz model will make it out of the assembly line.
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