Mercedes-Benz to Introduce Pickup Truck with Nissan
STUTTGART, Germany, April 7 (UPI) — Mercedes-Benz is getting into the pickup truck business, though the luxury automaker may not sell its new truck in North America.
Daimler AG is joining forces with the Renault-Nissan Alliance to develop the one-ton pickup truck, which will share some characteristics of the new Nissan NP300.
“Thanks to our well-established partnership with the Renault-Nissan Alliance, we are able to drastically reduce the time and cost to enter this key segment,” said Dieter Zetsche, chairman of the board of management of Daimler AG.
The truck will have a double cab and will be available for both personal and commercial use by the end of 2020.
The primary market for the truck is expected to be in Europe, Australia, South Africa and Latin America, but so far not North America.
Steve Cannon, CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA, told AutoNews a decision will be made before the end of 2015 as to whether the truck will be sold in the United States.
“We said to Stuttgart [Daimler headquarters], ‘We are open, and let us assess the market,’ ” Cannon said. “If that leads to us saying ‘green light,’ then we will bring it.”
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