Mercedes-Benz X-Class to be offered as a dual-cab only

There won’t be single-cab or space-cab versions of the all-new Mercedes-Benz X-Class, it has been revealed.

The new model – presaged by the Mercedes-Benz Concept X-Class models shown in Stockholm, Sweden this week – will be offered solely as a dual-cab model.

The news was confirmed by Dr Klaus Benzinger, head of strategic product project for the mid-size pick-up at Mercedes-Benz.

“We will only offer a double-cab version of the pick-up,” he said succinctly.

Volker Mornhinweg, head of Mercedes-Benz Vans, told a media contingent at the launch of the new Mercedes-Benz Concept X-Class that just because the strategy is for a dual-cab right now doesn’t mean that there could be potential for a more work-focused model at a later date.

“The point is that in the past, the pick-up trucks were really just a workhorse – just for work, or for businesses – really rough and tough off-road, but what we saw from our research – in Australia for example – there is a kind of change or move in the direction for a modern, lifestyle, private used product,” he said.

“There’s a lot of possible customers which we talked with in our car clinics that we had done some years ago, and we saw that kind of change,” Mornhinweg said. “That also opened up for us the opportunity to step in now because we can bring in – we not only would just like to step into the pick-up segment, we would like to expand it into that more modern lifestyle direction.”

As for a single-cab or extra-cab body style, Mornhinweg said that it may not be a current priority, but it could be at a later date.

“No, so far not – because the single-cab is a pure workhorse, and I wouldn’t say no forever, but at the current point of view we won’t step in there,” he said.

The brand’s head of marketing strategy for the mid-size pick-up, Anja Kratzenstein, said the shift towards these types of dual-cab vehicles is similar to what happened in the world of SUVs a few decades ago.

“In the past, workhorses and simple vehicles have been more important. Now lifestyle and private usage is increasing in importance. This change can be perceived all around the world,” Kratzenstein said.

“This is kind of comparable to what happened in the SUV segment 20 years ago – quality and safety were getting more and more important, and then Mercedes-Benz entered the segment with the M-Class, and completely redefined the segment. And the same thing is going to happen here.”

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