Mercedes-Benz X-Class pickup kicks the bucket
Yes, Mercedes-Benz built a pickup truck. Just three years later, it's a goner.
Chalk up the Mercedes-Benz X-Class as one of the strangest vehicles ever made in modern times. The beloved German luxury brand tried its hand at a utility vehicle with help from Nissan and its Navarra pickup, which is sold in numerous places outside the US.
Alas, it wasn't a winning proposition for Mercedes-Benz. On Friday, the automaker confirmed with Roadshow the pickup will end production in May. The truck had a three-year run after being introduced in 2017.
The company underscored the "niche product" played a "great" role in countries such as Australia and South Africa, but plans for expanding the X-Class to new markets quickly started to crumble last year. In early 2019, Mercedes-Benz decided against launching the X-Class in Argentina. In the company's statement the brand said, "The reason for this was, above all, that the price expectations of the Latin American customers have not been economically viable."
Based on the Nissan, Mercedes-Benz did its best to swing the X-Class into more premium territory. A typical brand grille and fascia treatment sort of helped, but it fell apart in the rear. It simply couldn't hide its Nissan-based bones. The cockpit also looked the part save for an awfully out-of-place gear selector held over from the Navarra.
German magazine Auto Motor und Sport reported Friday that Mercedes-Benz didn't move many X-Class models: Last year, the X-Class found 15,300 homes, while Nissan's Navarra sold over 66,000 units in the first half of last year. Maybe the world just wasn't ready for a Mercedes-Benz pickup.
It doesn't help that the X-Class wasn't slated for launch in the US, the world's largest market for pickups. Should Mercedes-Benz ever decide to give it another go, might I suggest one based on the G-Class?
