Mercedes, Nissan to develop midsize M-B pickup

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FRANKFURT (Reuters) -- Daimler AG will increase its co-operation with strategic partner Nissan to produce a mid-size pickup for Mercedes Benz.
The brand new Mercedes Benz pick-up will target business and personal customers and can share a few of the underpinnings with an all-new Nissan NP300 truck, Daimler and Nissan stated in a joint statement.
"Entering the fast growing section of mid-size pick ups is an essential part of continuing our international growth course," Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche stated.
"Thanks to our well-established partnership using the Renault Nissan Alliance, we're in a position to dramatically decrease time and price to enter this vital section."
Late last month Mercedes announced it'll develop a mid-size pickup for clients outside The United States, entering a fresh vehicle class that is dominated by lower-priced manufacturers.
Mercedes, Nissan and Renault have shared engines, crops and car underpinnings for small-scale autos since an alliance was struck between the car companies in 2010. Ever since then, cooperation has enlarged from three typical car tasks to 13.
The Mercedes pickup is going to be constructed by Nissan in Cordoba, Argentina, as well as the Nissan NP300 and a Renault-branded truck for Latin America, Daimler stated.
The three trucks may also be constructed in the Nissan plant in Barcelona, Spain, for other marketplaces, excluding The United States. Creation of the trucks in the two plants will begin from the conclusion of the decade, the firms said.
The Barcelona plant will create about 120,000 vehicles per annum for the three companions, while the Cordoba plant will create almost 70,000 vehicles a year.
Mercedes Benz's U.S. revenue arm is examining whether to market a variant of the planned Mercedes pick-up, Steve Cannon, head of the Mercedes Benz USA stated the other day at the New York autoshow.
"It would not come until, at the first, the '18, '19-time body," he stated. "We have time to check out the marketplace and choose."
Pick-ups have acquired popularity recently as gas prices facilitated. A year ago, three of the four best-selling automobiles in America were complete-sized pick-ups, the Ford F150, the Chevrolet Silverado and Ram 1500.
The section continues to be going upmarket, making a gap to get a superior brand, Daimler stated. A current study by Truecar.com identified one-quarter of Ford pick-ups sell for $50,000 or more.
MercedesBenz launched this sketch of the pick-up it intends to start by 2020.

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Dieter Zetsche

Daimler
Nissan
Truck

Marketing

07.04.2015
ID:1652

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