Mercedes has enjoyed the premium small MPV segment more or less to itself in the past decade, with the B-Class racking up over one million sales since the first generation landed in 2005, with Germany being its biggest market followed by China. Now, though, it’s going to face direct competition from rivaling BMW brand and its new 2-Series Active Tourer.
It’s too early for a replacement, as the second iteration of the B-Class was only launched in 2011, but the time is ripe for a mid-cycle facelift.
In typical German fashion, the cosmetic revisions will give the B-Class a tweaked face with new headlamps, grille and bumper designs on the front, and restyled tail light clusters and bumper with better-integrated tailpipes at the back.
Our spies nabbed a quick shot of the interior as well, but Mercedes’ people had anticipated the move covering the changed parts of the dashboard, including the steering wheel, instrument panel and parts of the center console. Still, we noticed that the climate controls are new.
We could also see certain updates to the available powertrains.
The precise launch date eludes us, but the Paris Motor Show in October this year could be the place where we see the car for the first time.
By John Halas
Photo Credits: CarPix for CarScoopS
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