Last month, we reported that Mercedes-Benz had no plans to build an AMG version of the upcoming X-Class bakkie. And now the reason for Affalterbach’s apparent reluctance has been revealed.
According to motoring.com.au, the Stuttgart automaker’s tuning division has no interest in creating a performance version of the upcoming X-Class since the double-cab borrows its underpinnings from the Nissan Navara, and will be produced in Renault-Nissan factories.
While the German brand has long insisted that the X-Class will have all the attributes of a “true Mercedes-Benz”, the chances of the AMG division working on a vehicle based on another automaker’s platform seem slim at best.
The official word from Mercedes-AMG boss Tobias Moers, though, is that the market for a tar-rippling, AMG-fettled bakkie isn’t quite large enough to warrant its development.
“No, there will be no AMG pickup,” Moers told the Australian publication at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
“Maybe there’s a market for such a vehicle in Australia, but not in the overall plan,” he added.
Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Daimler chairman and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, commented last month that “there is no plan” for an AMG-badged X-Class, before adding: “But you never know. We’ll see how the market goes, and how this product will be received in the marketplace”.
Also read:
- These two bakkies ‘inspired’ Mercedes X-Class design
- Mercedes X-Class concept nearly ‘production-ready‘
- Mercedes X-Class has these three bakkies in its sights
- Mercedes to offer full range of X-Class accessories
- Mercedes-Benz says it won’t make single-cab bakkie
- Will Mercedes build an AMG version of the X-Class?
- VW exec takes swipe at ‘over-hyped’ Mercedes X-Class
- Here’s who Mercedes says will buy its X-Class bakkie…
- 5 things we know about the Mercedes-Benz X-Class bakkie
- Mercedes-Benz bakkie concept officially revealed in Sweden!
