As we reported over the weekend, Mercedes-Benz is planning to invest more than $2 billion to upgrade and expand operations at its U.S. auto assembly plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The investment will make room to produce the new M-Class, the successor generations of the GL-Class and the C-Class… but that’s not all.
Sources now tell Automotive News Europe that Mercedes-Benz is planning to add another model at the Tuscaloosa plant. Insiders say that the model will be a variant of the M-Class with a coupe-like roofline. Of course, that means that the model will be a rival to the BMW X6, which is built in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Production of the model, likely to be called the Mercedes-Benz MLC, will begin in 2015.
Is there a market for such Benz? Well, BMW sold 46,404 units of the X6 in 2010, so there’s definitely a chance to grab a piece of the pie.
During the first 6 months of 2011, BMW sold 113,705 units, while Mercedes-Benz lagged behind with 110,926 units. Lexus, which Mercedes-Benz has been fighting for 11-years in the United States, sold 88,010 units.
2012 Mercedes-Benz M-Class:
- By: Omar Rana
Source: Automotive News
