From everything I've seen and heard, MB will not be bringing this new truck to the US, period.

Good! That will give me a good reason NOT to own one!

LOL, steady grow because GM has brought back the Colorado and canyon, from what I see they are still the lack luster sales as their former versions. There is not a large market for mid-size pick ups. If there was they would have never went away.

The new Navara based on the D23 platform is to be released in May 2015 here (next month).

Maybe MB's involved has been ongoing for a while. The new Navara with the coil sprung rear end is supposed to ride exceptionally well and it can maintain a 2 500lb load and a 7 800lb tow rating.

I have read the D23 platform is very versatile. It will come in a wide body and narrow body, plus Nissan, Renault and MB now will sell them. The wide body is roughly the size of the Colorado and the narrow body is to be very similar in size to the D22.

The chassis is loosely based on the D22. The D40 platform has been used on the Titan, Armada, Navara/Frontier.

The reason for the D22 size is Nissan still make the D22. We still can buy them in Australia in a midspec 4x4 dual cab for around $20 000USD in a turbo diesel.

It seems much of the midsize development and design has been taken out of the US. I do find this sad, as Nissan's San Diego design centre designed some great Nissan SUVs and pickups.

@Big Al From OZ,
Mercedes did want to use someone else's diesel, and as a result they will be designing a new chassis based on the Navara.
I know the Europeans are now looking at the "1 tonne" payload Pickup market more than ever before. Peugot is interested in doing a Pickup as well
One unintended consequence here, more people are using these to tow small 5th Wheelers. Jayco has opened up a new factory to produce more 5th wheelers and research and develop new Motorhomes, including Class A's

Jayco range of 5th wheelers for Global One Tonners
They are from a tiny 21ft to 24ft
http://www.jayco.com.au/range/5th-wheeler/

One tonners generally can haul roughly 26ft quite comfortably, these include, US 26ft 5th Wheelers such as Wildcat, Crossroad Cruiser

@SadSack,
The Colorado/Canyon still sold more than the aluminium F-150 last month.

It's early days yet. It appears the Taco hasn't lost ground either.

So, where is the Colorado/Canyon stealing it's sales from? I'd say a few V6 full size pickups have lost out.

The above illustration is nice, but I do realize that the final MB truck might look entirely different. I would say it is too early to judge the success of the Colorado/Canyon since they are not in full production. Most of the GM dealers in Cincinnati and N KY have only 1 or 2 in stock and many have none. It is hard to sell something if you have few models in stock.

Mercedes did not want to own Doge/Ram/Jeep any longer so they sold it. Now they want back into the truck market. Its like following someone with their blinker left on; you never know if or when they will turn....you just know they don't know what they are doing.

Mercedes did more harm to Chrysler than benefit. Fiat is a much better fit and Chrysler is doing well. Chrysler was in good shape before Daimler got hold of them so if you asked the few longtime Chrysler employees which they prefer they would choose Fiat.

@RRMc you mean the Pickup Market, they are biggest Truckmaker in the world.
They never have been into Pickups
@ Big Al from Oz,
This is not comparable to the U.S. Midsize market,very different beast. Sort of a Lariat 1/2 ton come 3/4 ton

@SadSack,
The Colorado/Canyon still sold more than the aluminium F-150 last month.

Posted by: Big Al from Oz | Apr 2, 2015 5:43:19 PM
Big al
That is 100% incorrect statement you made.

29% of march f series sales were 2015 f150's
The f series sales for March were 67,706 so with using math we can take 67706 and multiply it by .29 (which is the decimal form of 29%) and we come up with 19634.74 2015 f150 sold in March. Round the .74 truck up we get 19,635 2015 aluminum f150's sold.... The colorado/canyon only sold around 9000 trucks combined in March.

Here is the link to the 29% of f series sales as the aluminum 2015 f150 and the paragraph stating that sales figure.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/2015/04/01/automakers-march-sales/70760926/

Demand for Ford's new F-150 aluminum-bodied pickup continues to be strong, the automaker said. About 29 percent of its truck sales last month were made up of the new 2015 model, although total F-Series sales fell 4.6 percent compared to the same month a year ago.

@Scott,
I'm not getting into on of your Ford apologiser's debates.

Look at February's figures.

Al it is april... March figures are out. They sold over 19,000 2015 f150 in just the month of March or another way to look at it pretty much the entire 2015 sales figures of the Colorado for the year ford sold that many on just one factory.

Mark's article stated that the Frontier is not likely to be significantly upgraded for at least two years. What are they likely to do in the interim period for the US market? I would be surprised if they stayed with the existing powertrain options for the 2016 model year, but they haven't let out any information to the contrary.

Read the entire link All and you will find what you are looking for. It's in there stating 29% of f series sales in March were the 2015 model.
I can lead a horse to water but can't make them drink I guess.

Let's see you argue this stat AL.....

combine colorado/canyon sales the past 2 months were

February Colorado/canyon sales = 9076
March Colorado/canyon sales = 9055
They sold less of them in a longer month.... Have there sales hit the top and will start to fall???

Here is another link Al that I'm sure you will refuse to accept.... This one you only have to read through the second paragraph

http://www.autonews.com/article/20150401/RETAIL/150409964?template=mobile

@Scott,
You're incorrect.

67K sales last month are F-series sales. Which means F150 thru 450.

As of now only F150 is offered with aluminum body so F150 sales figures are unknown % of 67K.

Gregory J

The links I posted state 29% of fords truck sales were the new 2015 f150..... The remaining 71% is left over 2014 f150's and superduty's

I don't see a pricey Daimler powertrain upgrade changing the dynamics of the market for this type of truck.

The Frontier had become a bit long in the tooth, esp. in terms of engine/trans combo, but the extra cost of the Daimler pieces cannot be helpful when competing (price) against the likes of GM in the US, and the hoards of competitors in Asia and the Middle East.

If I had to bet I'd say it doesn't come to the US trimmed that way.

@Scott,
You are still a month out. The latest figures are current. Doh, the previous month.......was????

Now, lets see, January, March, April.............

Al
All my numbers for the f150 are the month of March sales figures.... 29 % of ford truck sales were 2015 aluminum f150's or well over 19,000 of ford 67,000+ truck sales. April sales figures will be out in May.

Gm only sold around 9k midsize trucks in March or 10,000 less then the aluminum f150

Statement from auto news link I posted........

"Ford continues to fill the pipeline with the redesigned F-150. Mark LaNeve, Ford vice president of U.S. marketing, sales and service, said the Kansas City plant is now running three daily crews and the redesigned pickup accounted for 29 percent of retail sales in March."

Wow,

If Mercedes does build the pickup in this link it will be an awesome looking pickup. Wow.

It could even become a Raptor killer. I'd like one if AMG does a little work to it.

Radical!

http://www.carsguide.com.au/car-news/upcoming-mercedes-hilux-rival-explained-31553#.VR4Ad7vn_mQ

@papa jim,
It is not coming to the U.S., it will be a metric tonne payload min capable vehicle with a Mercedes engine
The new Frontier will be similar to the current US one, but have the body style of the new Navara

Mercedes Benz full size "1/2" ton (that carriers 3 tons) competitor and Raptor terminator;

http://carguideblog.com/wp-content/uploads/Mercedes-Benz-G-63-AMG-6x6-pickup-8.jpg

Hopefully a MB midsizer;

http://resources.carsguide.com.au/styles/cg_hero_large/s3/Mercedes-Benz-CLA-ute-rendering-2.jpg

By the looks of it a PowerWagen slayer. MB's HD pickup;

http://www.pakwheels.com/forums/attachments/4x4-clubs-off-roaders-suv/747227d1186915740-one-best-offroad-unimog_ffz_pakwheels-com-.jpg

I do hope MB does become more involved in the pickup market. They seem to build some pretty good Shiite.

Oh, before anyone gets to riled, the comments are tongue in cheek, with a bit of truth.

Is anybody here boycotting anything made in the state of Indiana cause of the unfair religious rights laws?
If you are the Chevy Silverado is made in that state.

In my humble opinion, one of the biggest hindrances in the current pickup market is this idea that a certain types of trucks are for Americans, and the "global" trucks are for everyone else.

Obviously trucks should be marketed towards the demographics of where they are being sold, but I think the days of having separate pickups for separate markets is wasteful. How about start designing a truck to whatever standards are the strictest and then go from there? It would cut down on R&D cost and it would insure that every market gets a chance to get any particular pickups.

There are hundreds of options when it comes to make and model of cars. When it comes to trucks, automakers have been afraid to sell anything but full-size trucks in recent years. Now GM is approaching the mid-sized market with caution, but I wonder what it is automakers are so afraid of. If customers desire to choose between all different models of cars, would they not do the same for trucks?

@: HEMI MONSTER--Eventually there will be a global truck that is shared with the US and Canada. It will be between the current full size half ton and the current midsize. Full size pickups are the most profitable vehicle for the domestic manufacturers. The new CAFE standards being phased in over the next 10 years will force manufacturers to make their trucks smaller and lighter. A good compromise would be a size between the current full size and the current global size.

@big al
aren't you the one that complains when people abbreviate your name because its disrespectful? And now you intentionally mispell my name and belittle me because you find yourself on the wrong side of an argument. Takes a man to admit he was wrong.

The illustration has the front clip of a car. An old design at that.
I don't object to innovation, but when they blur the line between cars and PU trucks, even wimpy PU trucks, it will eventually bleed over into full size trucks. The new Colorado is marginal on this.
Icey slick slope.

I have been seeing some New Colorado's around and that's an accomplishment in BIG TRUCK TX.
No Canyon's at all, unless they just appear to be Sierra's at more distance than actual.