![amg-wont-work-on-the-mercedes-benz-x-class-pickups Tobias Moers, photo](https://theusbport.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/AMG-won’t-work-on-the-Mercedes-Benz-X-Class-pickups-696x425.jpg)
Last week, at the Los Angeles Auto Show, the head of AMG, Tobias Moers, told Motoring Magazine the division would not build a performance version of the Mercedez-Benz X-Class pickups.
Mercedes-Benz unveiled the concept of its X-Class pickup trucks nearly a month ago now, presenting them as premium vehicles for both urban and off-road driving. The X-Class comes in two different designs: the ‘Stylish Explorer’ and the ‘Powerful Adventurer.’
The German automaker also has a new G-Class prototype in the works, scheduled for a 2018 release.
Mercedes has started testing the upcoming G-Class in off-road terrains, but it has failed to meet the toughness standards that made world-class vehicles out of its predecessors.
Why is AMG not building a Mercedes-AMG X-Class?
AMG is a subdivision of Mercedes-Benz focused on designing high-performance versions of existing brand vehicles. Since its primary partner is Mercedes, and it works with its car fleet, AMG technically cannot touch the new X-Class, at least for now.
The upcoming pickup trucks from Mercedes-Benz are both based on the successful Nissan Navara. The German manufacturer redesigned the Navara and added its brand elements, but it is still a Nissan vehicle at its core.
![nissan-navara-image](https://theusbport.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Nissan-Navara-photo..jpg)
Mercedes’ design differs significantly from Nissan’s product, but that does not make it an original pickup truck. Daimler’s partnership with the Renault-Nissan Alliance was instrumental in getting the Navara as the base of its X-Class.
This is not the only reason for the company to refrain from touching the new X-Class luxury pickups. AMG is also considering that, in the end, a performance-based upgrade would not be an upgrade at all.
With the current state of the concept vehicles, all AMG could do would be adding a couple of tweaks and a redesign overhaul that would prove unnecessary and ineffective in the market.
A Mercedes-AMG X-Class pickup may not even have a market
The future vehicle still doesn’t have a defined launch window other than 2017, and it will see a limited release precisely because Mercedes doesn’t know what will be the result of betting on a luxury pickup truck.
AMG CEO Tobias Moers said a potential AMG take on the X-Class would make sense in a very limited market, but refused to offer any more insights on the issue.
Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz will take the X-Class pickups to Europe, South America, Australia, and Africa starting next year.
![Dietmar Exler photo.](https://theusbport.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Dietmar-Exler-President-And-CEO-Of-Mercedes-Benz-USA..jpg)
Dietmar Exler, CEO of the U.S. branch of the automaker, also said at the Los Angeles Auto Show the company did not discard the option of bringing the new X-Class to North America shortly.
“Once the next version of the truck comes out there might be an opportunity to bring it in the medium and the long-term,” Exler said.
This would place the X-Class in the U.S. and Canada as soon as 2018 or 2019 if the launch is successful next year.
Source: Motoring