This Might Be The Reason Why US Won’t Get Their Hands On The Mercedes-Benz X-Class
Giancarlo Perlas July 25, 2017
The Mercedes-Benz X-Class is the company’s first true pickup truck, which caused the uproar it received last week when it was launched in South Africa. Mercedes fans all over the world have been waiting long for it, but Americans were disappointed that they won’t get their hands on it… Possibly ever.
According to Business Insider, the X-Class won’t be available for sale in the United States for yet to be stated reason. The German automaker has yet to release a full statement regarding their decision to isolate US from the European market, which will get the truck in November, and the likes of South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand in 2018. Argentina and Brazil will welcome the truck in 2019.
The three best-selling vehicles in America last year were all pickups—Ford F-Series, Chevrolet Silverado, and RAM trucks. But it’s worth noting that these are all full-sized pickup trucks. The US may have sold 1.3 million pickup trucks, but 1.12 million of these are full size. The X-Class is a midsize truck, so its market is relatively smaller compared to the likes of the Silverado and the F-Series.
Competition is tough in the industry of full-sized truck in the US that even heavyweights like Toyota and Nissan are struggling to make sales. The two Japanese brands have accounted for only 78,000 of the 1.12 million sales the pickup truck segments have made last year.
Sales for midsize trucks in the United States is relatively small with only 216,000 units sold through June 2017. The segment has an annual growth of around 2.4% while the full-size segment is steadily growing at 4.8% yearly.
