Over the past year, the possibility of a Mercedes-Benz badged pickup truck quickly went from a joke and rendered tomfoolery to reality after parent company Daimler not only confirmed plans, but also teased the car through a sketch.
For those of you pondering what the pictured Nissan NP300 Navara has to do with Merc’s truck, Daimler won’t go through the development process alone, as it has joined forces with partner Renault-Nissan Alliance adding yet another project to their long list of collaborations that include the Mercedes A-Class based Infiniti Q30.
Last year, Mercedes stated that its first 1-ton pickup model will “share some of the architecture with the all-new Nissan NP300”, which brings us to this example with fender extensions that we believe is an early test mule for the three-pointed star brand’s truck. The only visible modifications to the Navara are the fender extensions which suggest that the vehicle is riding on wider tracks.
There’s nothing else we can take from this mule, as Mercedes claims the production model that will be designed in-house in Germany will have a unique shell. It will feature a double cab and will be offered in both passenger and commercial versions.
The as-of-yet unnamed Mercedes model (we’ve heard rumors about the GLT moniker) will be produced alongside the Navara NP300 and the upcoming Renault version of the truck (teased by the Alaskan) in two plants, at the Renault factory in Cordoba, Argentina, for Latin America, and at the Nissan plant in Barcelona, Spain, for Europe, Australia and South Africa, starting in 2018.
While a Mercedes-badged model would sound ideal for pickup-truck thirsty consumers in North America, the German company has not yet reached a decision on whether it will sell it in the USA and Canada.
Photo Credits: CarPix for CarScoops
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