We all have seen the renders of Mercedes-Benz pickup truck. First it was an imagining, then renders, then concept, and finally the real thing. Mercedes-Benz revealed the contemporary looking mid-sized pickup truck back in July in Cape Town, South Africa. And the truck, categorized as X-Class, will go on sale in November, 2017.
But considering Germans are quite savvy, one would think why a premium brand would make something like a pickup truck. Well if Bentley can make something like Bentayga, and Lamborghini can make something like Urus, why not a Mercedes-Benz pickup truck?
But there is something more substantial and deeper behind the decision to make a pickup truck. Mercedes-Benz is forecasting that the volumes for pickup trucks of this size to be as high as 3 million worldwide in the next decade. And there is always going to be some demand for luxury trucks. American car companies do make luxury trucks, but let’s be honest, Americans don’t do luxury like Europeans do.
But there is a more substantial and deeper reason why Mercedes has decided to make the X-Class. Mercedes-Benz is forecasting the volumes for pickup trucks of this size to be as high as 3 million units worldwide in the next decade. And there is always going to be some place in the segment for luxury trucks. According to Volker Mornhinweg, executive vice president of Mercedes-Benz Vans,
“SUVs are elegant lifestyle products with a high-quality finish to them. Not every customer takes them into the wilderness anymore. We believe pickups could go in a similar direction,”
Mercedes hope to capture some piece of the pickup pie with the new 2018 X-Class.
The X-Class is based on Nissan Navara; a mid-sized truck by Nissan which also happens to be German carmaker’s business partner.
But it is only the ladder frame and some other borrowed bits and bogs from Navara. Rest is all Mercedes itself.
The X-Class pickup is 2.8 inch wider than the Navara. As far the engines are concerned, you will have the option between two either the Nissan four-cylinder motors, 2.3-liter diesels with 163 hp or 190 hp. Or a high-torque Mercedes 255-hp 3.0-liter V-6 diesel engine.
Let’s see if one of these trucks ever make it to Pakistan.
