Photo: Daimler AG
Now that the future BMW X6-fighter from Stuttgart has been officially unveiled in concept car form, while the production version has already started testing, some people have started questioning if Mercedes-Benz will continue their SUV offensive in other segments as well.
Well, according to Andreas Zygan, who is in charge of the large SUV family at Mercedes-Benz, there could be plenty more models similar to the MLC in the works if there is enough interest.
In other words, as the MLC (C292) comes to eat a slice of the BMW X6 (F16) market pie, so could a smaller model come to fend off the recently unveiled BMW X4 (F26).
As some of you know, Mercedes-Benz wants to cut the number of car architectures that it's using in the following years, from the current 11 different platforms to just four. They are called the MFA (Modular Front Architecture) for front-wheel drive-based vehicles, MRA (Modular Rear Architecture) for rear-wheel drive-based cars, MHA (Modular High Architecture) for crossovers, SUVs and off-roaders and MSA (Modular Sport Architecture) for sports cars and roadsters.
We are mainly interested in the MRA and MHA platforms, as the models based on these two will most likely provide the biggest cash cows in terms of volume and return on investment, with Mercedes-Benz head honchos firmly believing in a future where their best-selling cars will be crossover/SUV models.
Currently, the three-pointed star crossover/SUV lineup consists of five different models, who are about to become six with the MLC from 2015, but a GLK-based crossover in the style of the BMW X4 is also set to arrive in 2016.
Speaking with Auto Express at the 2014 New York Auto Show, Andreas Zygan was asked what he thinks of an even more luxurious version of the Mercedes-Benz GL to better counteract the Range Rover and the upcoming Bentley Falcon SUV.
“If there are more competitors to GL, we need to react. There is definitely a market for those who want something exclusive, not just high-performance. There is no decision yet, we are analyzing it all. It's interesting but a small segment. But our customers are expecting an answer - they want to be special.” Zygan said.
If that means that an uber-SUV wearing the three-pointed star is coming in the next few years as well, we don't yet know, but it will surely be interesting to see what type of new or existing niche models can come out of those highly modular platforms that Mercedes-Benz is working on.
In other words, as the MLC (C292) comes to eat a slice of the BMW X6 (F16) market pie, so could a smaller model come to fend off the recently unveiled BMW X4 (F26).
As some of you know, Mercedes-Benz wants to cut the number of car architectures that it's using in the following years, from the current 11 different platforms to just four. They are called the MFA (Modular Front Architecture) for front-wheel drive-based vehicles, MRA (Modular Rear Architecture) for rear-wheel drive-based cars, MHA (Modular High Architecture) for crossovers, SUVs and off-roaders and MSA (Modular Sport Architecture) for sports cars and roadsters.
We are mainly interested in the MRA and MHA platforms, as the models based on these two will most likely provide the biggest cash cows in terms of volume and return on investment, with Mercedes-Benz head honchos firmly believing in a future where their best-selling cars will be crossover/SUV models.
Currently, the three-pointed star crossover/SUV lineup consists of five different models, who are about to become six with the MLC from 2015, but a GLK-based crossover in the style of the BMW X4 is also set to arrive in 2016.
Speaking with Auto Express at the 2014 New York Auto Show, Andreas Zygan was asked what he thinks of an even more luxurious version of the Mercedes-Benz GL to better counteract the Range Rover and the upcoming Bentley Falcon SUV.
“If there are more competitors to GL, we need to react. There is definitely a market for those who want something exclusive, not just high-performance. There is no decision yet, we are analyzing it all. It's interesting but a small segment. But our customers are expecting an answer - they want to be special.” Zygan said.
If that means that an uber-SUV wearing the three-pointed star is coming in the next few years as well, we don't yet know, but it will surely be interesting to see what type of new or existing niche models can come out of those highly modular platforms that Mercedes-Benz is working on.
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