Mercedes to end X-Class production

Mercedes-Benz will end production of its X-Class pick-up in May 2020, following poor sales.

The Nissan Navara based vehicle was the most expensive pick-up on sale when it was launched in 2017.

In its first full-year of production only 16,700 examples were sold across Europe, Australia and South Africa.

The model was available as the X 220 d, which shared a powertrain with the Navara, or the X 350 d, which used a Mercedes-Benz V6 diesel.

Its closest rival, the VW Amarok, is considerable cheaper and comes with a more powerful engine.

In a statement, Mercedes-Benz confirmed the news saying: “As you will already know, we continuously check our product portfolio.

“With the X-Class launch in 2017, Mercedes-Benz entered into a new segment and presented a mid-size pickup. We drew in a lot of attention with this vehicle.

“In our global product portfolio, the X-Class is a niche product which plays a great role in a few markets, including Australia and South Africa.

“Already in the first quarter of 2019, we decided that the X-Class would not be built in Argentina as planned. The reason for this was, above all, that the price expectations of the Latin American customers have not been economically viable.

“Now it has been decided that from the end of May 2020, we will no longer produce this relatively young model.”

Customers can still order the X-Class now and production will continue until May. The brand will stop accepting orders for the range-topping X 350 d on February 11.

Mercedes-Benz Vans confirmed it will continue to provide service and warranty coverage to existing vehicles.

The VW Amarok will also be discontinued this year, with last registrations expected in August before the new Euro 6.2 emissions targets are introduced.