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Mercedes-Benz Starts Considering X-Class Pickup For U.S. Market

When the three-pointed star unveiled the two concepts that preview the X-Class, a particular higher-up over at Mercedes-Benz’s commercial vehicle division said that the all-new workhorse ain’t no fat cowboy truck for North America. In a spectacular turn of events, the automaker is reconsidering its thoughts on the matter.
Mercedes-Benz X-Class pickup truck (concept) 31 photos
Photo: Mercedes-Benz
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The official I’m referring to is Volker Mornhinweg. The head of Mercedes-Benz Vans made an 180-degree backtrack. Speaking to Automotive News, Volker said: "In the past year the midsized truck market has come back a bit. General Motors is launching a midsized truck. We are watching developments very closely, and we will take a decision at the appropriate time," he concluded.

If I may point out the ridiculousness of this situation, Mercedes-Benz knew from the very beginning that it’s a bad idea to limit the availability of the soon-to-be-unveiled X-Class. The United States of America is the biggest market for pickups, full stop. Initially, M-B said that the Nissan NP300 Navara-based mid-size pickup would be made available in the following markets: Europe, Latin America, South Africa, and Australia (including New Zealand).

Supposing the board of directors agree to sell the X-Class in the U.S. (and Canada for that matter), Mercedes-Benz will find itself between a rock and a hard place. According to Mornhinweg, the production plant in Argentina is unlikely to have sufficient capacity “to serve the U.S. market.” This, in turn, made the Mercedes-Benz Vans big kahuna mumble something about the possibility of establishing a new U.S. production site for the X-Class.

With reservations already open for the UK-spec model, the 2018 Mercedes-Benz X-Class is confirmed to use a turbo diesel V6 and 4Matic permanent all-wheel-drive. A transfer case with reduction gear, as well as two differential locks are in the offing as well. As for capability, the three-pointed star told expecting customers that its truck will boast a payload of more than 1.1 tonnes (2,425 pounds) and will tow 3.5 tonnes (7,716 pounds).
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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