German auto maker Daimler will enter the global light-pickup truck market by the end of 2017, with plans for a Mercedes-Benz ‘X-Class’ concept, according to its CEO Dieter Zetsche.
Zetsche said that Daimler aims to propose a mid-size truck that is slightly smaller than the big US pick-ups, adding that the size of the global annual market for the mid-size segment is poised to grow by 39%, from two to 2.8 million units by 2025, placing it among the “most attractive targets” in the world.
He added that customers appear to be growing more accepting of the pick-up body style as an everyday-use vehicle due to advances in engineering, making them more comfortable and efficient.
Zetsche presented sketches of two brawny ‘X-Class’ concept trucks intended to demonstrate the company’s blending of the company’s luxury heritage with the rugged stature of a pickup truck.
Daimler has previously been successful with several heavier consumer/commercial vehicles.
The Gelandewagen, or G-Class, a rugged sport-utility vehicle built to compete against Land Rovers or Toyota Land Cruisers, is famously popular in Dubai, having been popularised by the emir of Dubai, with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum owning a G63 AMG. Before that, he drove a G55.
The G-class is the second oldest Mercedes-Benz in production, and has a traditionally royal pedigree. The model was originally developed as a military vehicle at the suggestion of the Shah of Iran, who at the time was a significant Mercedes shareholder.
Needless to say, in Daimler Trucks and Buses, the group controls the world’s largest heavy-duty truck manufacturing operation in the world, including the Actros, Zetros, Freightliner, and Western Star brands.
