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N issan is extending its co-operation with alliance
partner Renault to develop a medium-sized pick-up
truck for Mercedes-Benz – a move that will give the
prestige German brand a ticket into the highly popular one-
tonne ute segment.
Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific has confirmed that the
project, which has been on the table for several years, will
include development in Australia ahead of the vehicle’s global
launch later this decade.
Australia has been identified by Mercedes as a primary
target market, along with Europe, South Africa and Latin
America. The ute will be based on Nissan’s new-generation
NP300-series Navara which launches here this year, and which
is also underpinning an all-new ute for Renault.
At this stage, Mercedes has only confirmed that its still-to-
be-named utility will be launched with a dual-cab body and
that its design and engineering will be carried out in-house.
It promises the vehicle will have “all of Mercedes-Benz’s
distinctive characteristics and features” and has confirmed
it will be targeted at both private buyers and commercial
customers, particularly the trades.
For markets outside North and South America, the Mercedes
ute will be built at Nissan’s factory in Barcelona, Spain,
alongside both the new Navara and, from next year, Renault’s
version. The plant’s capacity will be raised to about 120,000
vehicles a year by the end of the decade, when all three models
are in production.
The Navara sold in Australia is built at Nissan’s new plant
in the Samut Prakan province in Thailand – it was previously
produced alongside the Triton at Mitsubishi’s factory in Laem
Chabang – but there is no word at this stage on whether the
plant will be tooled up for both the Renault and Mercedes utes.
Daimler AG chairman of the board of management and head of
Mercedes-Benz Cars, Dieter Zetsche, described the company’s
move as a key step as it looks to expand global sales.
“Entering the rapidly growing segment of mid-size pick-ups
is an important step in continuing our global growth path,”
he says.
“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.”
At the initial announcement of the program a couple of
weeks earlier, when an official rendering was released, Dr
Zetsche also emphasises: “We will enter this segment with
our distinctive brand identity and all of the vehicle attributes
that are typical of the brand with regard to safety, comfort,
powertrains and value.”
Mercedes Benz
MERCEDES PICK-UP