Although we’ve yet to learn local pricing for the new Mercedes-Benz X-Class, the German brand has already said that its double-cab bakkie “deserves” its expected premium price.
Speaking to CarAdvice, Christian Pohl, the Stuttgart-based automaker’s head of product and marketing for the X-Class, said that the new bakkie would “offer extra little things” over competitors, including the Nissan Navara on which it is based and the Volkswagen Amarok against which it was reportedly benchmarked.
“We have a brand-specific premium against the Amarok, but we won’t price ourselves out of the market,” Pohl told the Australian publication.
“We are being humble while we are self-confident about the product. We know we are last in segment, we know how competitive it is. As a luxury brand, you have to offer extra little things. I think it [the X-Class] deserves a premium.
“We’re not arrogant and believe we can do everything better, but there’s a quality-to-price ratio – and we were looking at that when we developed the vehicle.”
The X-Class is scheduled to launch on local shores in the second quarter of 2018, with two common-rail turbodiesel engines (the single-turbo 2,3-litre in the X220d and the bi-turbo version in the X250d) likely to be offered. A petrol engine set to be available in some markets won’t come to South Africa (it will be built in left-hand-drive guise only), while the flagship V6 diesel is set to be released internationally in mid-2018.
Also read:
- DRIVEN: Mercedes-Benz X250d 4Matic Power
- How expensive we could spec an X-Class (in Germany)
- Mercedes-Benz X-Class is ‘appalling’, says BMW exec…
- No V8 on the cards for X-Class bakkie, says Mercedes
- Here’s how Mercedes tweaked the Navara’s chassis…
- Mercedes will offer these accessories for its X-Class
- Mercedes-Benz X-Class: Concept vs. production…
- ‘Natural move’ to base X-Class on Navara – Mercedes
- Here’s what the Mercedes X-Class looks like in base spec
- Mercedes releases X-Class bakkie’s off-roading specs
- Side by side: Mercedes-Benz X-Class vs. Nissan Navara
- Mercedes-Benz X-Class double-cab bakkie revealed!
