The launch of the third-generation A-Class and the new CLA sedan that uses the same platform marks Mercedes’ latest offensive on the front-wheel drive premium compact car front. However, it looks like the German carmaker is planning even more FWD models in the future, as Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche recently confessed.
He said that the carmaker might expand its front-wheel-drive lineup when the second generation of Mercedes-Benz compact cars launches in 2018. “We are considering the final portfolio of the next generation of our compact cars. We have to define it and we may expand the portfolio,” Zetsche told Automotive News.
Mercedes’ current wave of FWD-based cars includes four nameplates: the four-door CLA, the five-door B-Class, the five-door A-Class and the upcoming GLA crossover, which will premiere at the Frankfurt auto show in September.
Although Zetsche did not say what models might be added when the second generation of compact cars arrive in 2018, rumor has it a CLA convertible and a two-door roadster may be in the works. Until then, Zetsche has confirmed that Mercedes-Benz will launch a fifth model to the front-wheel-drive lineup next year, adding that the respective model won’t be sold in the United States.
While he declined to say the name of the new model, the main “suspect” is the CLA Shooting Brake, the wagon version of the CLA. However, another model that would fit the description is the three-door A-Class.
By Dan Mihalascu
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