Mercedes unveils updated R-Class
By Dawn Kent -- The Birmingham News
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An updated version of the R-Class crossover, built at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Vance, makes its debut this week at the New York International Auto Show. Mercedes-Benz will take the wraps off a new version of its R-Class crossover this week at the New York International Auto Show, the latest attempt to spark a wider following for the Alabama-made vehicle.
The R-Class has been updated for the 2011 model year with a redesigned front end and an overall appearance that "conveys a new level of assertiveness," said Mercedes, which released photos of the new vehicle ahead of its global debut.
Built at the German automaker's Vance factory, the R-Class was launched in 2005 and is touted as a vehicle that features elements of an SUV, a sedan and a luxury wagon.
But it has been a perennial low seller in recent years, and there has even been speculation that Mercedes would discontinue the model. Last year, U.S. sales of the R-Class totaled 2,825, a 63.5 percent plunge from 2008.
Pricing for the 2010 R-Class starts at around $50,000.
"American consumers just aren't flocking to it in the way they flock to traditional SUVs," said Stephanie Brinley, an auto industry analyst for market researcher AutoPacific.
Part of the problem, she said, is that the long and sleek body of the R-Class looks too much like a station wagon, a style that Americans generally don't appreciate.
In other countries, however, the R-Class is in greater demand. For instance, China is the world's largest market for the vehicle, with sales that totaled 4,776 last year.
The country's wage growth means more people have drivers to take them around, and the R-Class is popular for its spacious and comfy backseat.
The R-Class' update for 2011 gives it a tougher Look up front, Brinley said, and Mercedes should be able to increase sales.
But she doubts that R-Class sales will rival those of the other two Mercedes models built in Vance: the M-Class SUV, which surpassed 25,000 in the U.S. last year, and the GL-Class full-sized SUV, which topped 15,000.
The R-Class was developed before the global auto market collapsed, back when expectations of annual U.S. industry sales soared toward 17 million.
"When you've got that kind of volume, you can afford to micro-niche much better," Brinley said.
But sales tumbled to 10.4 million last year. While the numbers are rising this year, they won't get close to the heyday of the mid-2000s anytime soon.
At the same time, the M-Class and the GL-Class are competition for the R-Class. They are all built on the same platform and offer similar features.
The R-Class "will see some regrowth and rebirth simply because buyers will come back to whatever our new normal is," Brinley said. "But it's likely to always be the straggler amongst those three vehicles."
http://blog.al.com/businessnews/2010/03/mercedes_unveils_updated_r-cla.html
... just my thoughts
