Mercedes To Become More Affordable, Will Bring A-Class To The US in 2018

After years of back and forth over whether American luxury consumers were ready for the A-class small car, Mercedes- Benz will finally bring an A-class sedan to the U.S. in 2018.

Mercedes-Benz USA officials confirmed the car's arrival, slated for around September of next year, to U.S. dealers at a meeting in Miami this month, according to dealers who attended. Dealers saw the actual car, which was described to them as the brand's new entry-level model slotting below the CLA four-door coupe.

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qwertyfla - 6/19/2017 11:21:54 AM

0 Boost

This is a mistake and will only cheapen the brand image but Merc has been going downstream for a while with BMW chasing all kinds of silly niche markets and inventing some useless ones too.

cidflekken - 6/19/2017 12:47:28 PM

+4 Boost

No, it won't cheapen the brand. Mercedes has been playing this very smart by focusing on both ends of the price spectrum. While they are growing the lower portion of their model range, they have grown the upper portion as well. Well, technically, they've addressed and continue to address every portion at a incredibly swift pace.

HoustonMidtown - 6/19/2017 1:14:04 PM

+1 Boost

How can it not cheapen the brand - the CLA gets knocked constantly for being cheap - especially the interior....this new vehicle will be below the CLA...

cidflekken - 6/19/2017 4:00:32 PM

+4 Boost

Right, and Mercedes is still dominating the upper sector in sales. So, no, their image has not been tarnished.
The CLA is getting knocked for not being "Mercedes enough", but buyers know it does not represent the brand which is why expectations are so high. In addition, Mercedes is executing "traditional Mercedes" values with all of their other products in the lineup.

dpalmo - 6/19/2017 2:05:29 PM

-8 Boost

Well, seeing how MB has been cheapening its image for quite some time, further degrading the brand shouldn't be a concern to its investors or customers.

Look at how prevalent is the horrible CLA here in the states. It is essentially a cheap, underwhelming Benz-badged nissan for the rich and the poor. Mercedes was unapologetic about using Nissan engines, drivetrain, development and labor, as they are similarly unapologetic about dumbing down their own AMG and Maybach sub-brands. You can find an AMG badge on literally EVERYTHING now. What happened to the glorious days of AMG engineering?

And have you seen the interior of the new models? Bland, aged language design with cheap plastic everywhere. Absolutely sad.

BMW is pretty much doing the exact same thing with their "M marketing". No wonder Audi is steadily catching up on Mercedes and BMW in both brand perception and sales. Sorry MB fanboys, Mercedes isn't the same luxury company anymore!

MDarringer - 6/19/2017 4:44:51 PM

-1 Boost

That's what you get when you rebody a Renault Megane and call it a Mercedes. Remember Renault = Nissan.

MDarringer - 6/19/2017 4:43:32 PM

-2 Boost

So they had the CLA for $30K and now it's grown a couple thousand, so they are doing a CLA sized car at $30K. The CLA is a sales dud. They should cancel it when the A shows up.

cidflekken - 6/19/2017 7:31:05 PM

+4 Boost

A "dud", as it relates to what benchmark? The A3, which has a few more variants than the CLA and 8 more inches of legroom in the rear?
The CLA isn't meant to sell in volumes. It's a niche car. Even the BMW 2 Series has 6 more inches of legroom in the rear and it has sold 2k fewer units this year. For all intents and what seems to be your definition of a dud, the A3 should be viewed as such since it isn't outselling the slightly larger, more expensive A4.

MDarringer - 6/19/2017 11:46:57 PM

-1 Boost

@cidflekken dud as in pathetically bad sales for an affordable/attainable product.

The CLA is NOT a niche car. It was designed to be a grand slam of sales to bring people into the brand as a means of working them up the Mercedes ladder.

By contrast, the A3 does roughly 50% more volume and was a genius move by Audi. The CLA should have been a similar move for Mercedes and it hasn't been.