Photo: Automedia
First spied yesterday for the very first time, the Mercedes-Benz CLA 45 AMG Shooting Brake (X117) is about to suffer the same fate as its non-AMG brother, the “regular” not-yet-launched CLA Shooting Brake.
Caught near the Mercedes-Benz testing center in Sindelfingen, Germany, the slightly-camouflaged pre-production prototype in the adjacent photos will only be available in continental Europe and right-hand drive countries like the UK, Australia and Japan.
As we mentioned before, the upcoming fifth and so far last member of the Mercedes-Benz MFA (Modular Front Architecture) platform, the CLA Shooting Brake in both AMG and non-AMG spec will not be homologated for the United states market.
The reasoning behind the decision comes from the fact that the demand for station wagon-types of cars has been gradually replaced by the thirst for crossovers in the land of the free in recent decades.
The only station wagon that Mercedes-Benz is currently selling in the US is the E-Class Wagon, and it only comes in either E 350 4Matic or E 63 AMG S-Model 4Matic guises.
Even though the CLA Shooting Brake, just like the much larger CLS Shooting Brake, will not be marketed as a practical station wagon but as a life-style model which might appeal to the new generations of millennials, it seems that Mercedes-Benz is scared that not everyone will see it this way.
Plus, the GLA compact crossover/SUV is just months away from being introduced in the US, and that model is also getting a 45 AMG variant. Common sense told the Germans that the two niche models might cannibalize each other on a non-restrictive market such as the American one.
As we mentioned before, the upcoming fifth and so far last member of the Mercedes-Benz MFA (Modular Front Architecture) platform, the CLA Shooting Brake in both AMG and non-AMG spec will not be homologated for the United states market.
The reasoning behind the decision comes from the fact that the demand for station wagon-types of cars has been gradually replaced by the thirst for crossovers in the land of the free in recent decades.
The only station wagon that Mercedes-Benz is currently selling in the US is the E-Class Wagon, and it only comes in either E 350 4Matic or E 63 AMG S-Model 4Matic guises.
Even though the CLA Shooting Brake, just like the much larger CLS Shooting Brake, will not be marketed as a practical station wagon but as a life-style model which might appeal to the new generations of millennials, it seems that Mercedes-Benz is scared that not everyone will see it this way.
Plus, the GLA compact crossover/SUV is just months away from being introduced in the US, and that model is also getting a 45 AMG variant. Common sense told the Germans that the two niche models might cannibalize each other on a non-restrictive market such as the American one.
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