Mercedes Decides On The Future Of The X-Class Pickup Truck

Despite the Mercedes-Benz X-Class being a massive flop, some loyal fans still ask about the possibility of a second-generation truck from the luxury brand. This comes after Mercedes-Benz pulled the plug just two years after the car was introduced, basicallyadmitting that it made a huge mistake.

In an interview with Australian automotive outletDrive, Marion Friese, the global head of marketing for Mercedes-Benz Vans, confirmed that there are no current plans to introduce a second-generation X-Class. It seems the luxury brand is done with the pickup segment, but it may revisit the idea if there's enough customer demand.

"We do not have any concrete plans on that front, but as always, we keep an eye on our customers and potential customers and then decide what we do," said Friese. If Mercedes-Benz is basing the decision on customer demand, it's in for a long wait.

In case you need a refresher, the X-Class was based on the D23 Nissan Frontier, known as the Navara in other parts of the world.Mercedes teamed up with Nissanfor two reasons. The first and most obvious was to save development costs. The second reason was a shorter gestation period. From the time Mercedes said it would produce a pickup truck to the actual launch, it was a little over two years.

During its second year of sale, Mercedes only sold roughly 16,700 units, and rightly so. We've driven the X-Class on multiple occasions, and, in isolation, it's a poor effort at best. When measured against the Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger, and even theNissan Frontierit's based on, the X-Class is even worse.

The X-Class had two major problems. First, Mercedes cut corners and rushed it to market. This meant you got a cupholder that was an inch deep, so every time you hit the brakes, the contents of whatever beverage would spill all over the center console.