The Mercedes-Benz X-Class is dead. After reports coming out of Europe last year, the three-pointed star’s first foray into the pick-up truck segment will officially cease in May, and all production will wrap up by June of this year. The reason? Failing to live up to sales expectations.
Conceived as a way to reduce Mercedes-Benz’s dependency on the Sprinter van for its global commercial vehicle sales, the X-Class was supposed to eat away in a segment that’s expected to grow to 3.2 million units in the next decade. Unfortunately, sales have been limited to just 16,700 in 2018, and around 10,000 units for the first nine months of 2019.
Launched as a competitor to the likes of the Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux, Mercedes-Benz thought that there would be a market for an upscale workhorse. Unfortunately, customer clinics revealed that the market is generally unwilling to pay the premium price for what’s essentially a “work truck.”
Based off the Navara, the X-Class gets its own unique exterior and interior treatment, most of which aren’t available in its Nissan counterpart.
For markets where the X-Class is sold (the Philippines isn’t one of them), personalized orders will only be accepted until February 11.
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