“We will open up and change the segment of mid-size pickups –
with the world’s first true premium pickup for the modern urban lifestyle”,
says Volker Mornhinweg, Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans, in a press release from
earlier today. “Our future X-Class will be a pickup that knows no compromise.
Ladder-type frame, high-torque six-cylinder engine, and permanent all-wheel
drive are compulsory for us. As an added value we bring safety, comfort,
agility, and expressive design – in other words, everything that distinguishes
vehicles bearing the Mercedes star. We will thus appeal to new customers who
have not considered owning a pickup before.”
The Mercedes-Benz ‘X-Class’ was born from a strategic
partnership between Daimler and the Renault-Nissan Alliance. The relationship
between Mercedes-Benz and Nissan has grown in recent years after Mercedes acquired
34% of Mitsubishi through Nissan.