Mercedes-Benz revealed two mid-size pickup truck concepts Tuesday in Stockholm via livestream.
DETROIT - Mercedes-Benz revealed two mid-size pickup truck concepts on Tuesday.
Though concepts, the company said the X Class lineup will be launched in late 2017.
The pickup's arrival stateside is still not certain, and actually appear somewhat unlikely. Automotive News reports that Mercedes has named Europe, Latin America, South Africa and Australia as key markets, and is still weighing whether to sell it in the U.S.
The mid-size pickup line stems from a partnership between Daimler AG and Renault-Nissan. The 1-ton pickup for Mercedes-Benz will be based on the Nissan NP300.
While the mid-size pickup will share some of the architecture of the Nissan NP300, it will be engineered and designed by Daimler to meet the specific needs of its customers, the company has said.
Nissan may not have a huge piece of the U.S. mid-size pickup market, but globally it is the second largest manufacturer of 1-ton trucks. The Japanese company has been making them since 1933.
Daimler said it investing "high nine figures" worth of money into the new product line.
"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," Volker Mornhinweg, head of Mercedes-Benz Vans, said in a release Tuesday. "Our future X-Class will be a pickup that knows no compromise."
That will include a ladder-type frame, high-torque six-cylinder engine and permanent all-wheel drive, he added.
"As an added value we bring safety, comfort, agility, and expressive design - in other words, everything that distinguishes vehicles bearing the Mercedes star,: Mornhinweg said. "We will thus appeal to new customers who have not considered owning a pickup before."