Just when we thought Ford’s Platinum’s, GM’s Denali’s and Ram’s Laramie edition pickups were the top of the luxury rock as one could get, along comes Mercedes announcing they are entering the pickup market.
Yes. Mercedes.
Those lads across the pond that gave us all those wonderful German luxury cars, M-Class SUVs, and the Sprinter vans now want a piece of the pickup market.
But Mercedes, owned by Daimler, isn’t targeting our beloved full-size pickups or even the U.S. market. At least not yet.
Instead, they have announced the launch of a midsized pickup in the next five years initially focusing sales to customers in other global markets including Australia, Europe, Latin America and South Africa.
Does that mean the baby Mercedes pickup won’t hit our shores? Don’t count them out.
Think about it. The top three best-selling vehicles in the United States in 2014 were 1/2-ton pickups: Ford’s F-150, Chevy’s Silverado 1500 and Ram’s 1500. And now GM has re-entered the midsize market with the Colorado and Canyon.
According to news reports from overseas, Daimler said the new midsize pickup would be built by its Vans division.
And it just so happens earlier this month, Mercedes said it would invest $500 million to build a new assembly plant in South Carolina to build what? Large commercial vans.
Hmmmmm.