Mercedes-Benz Is Gearing Up to Release a New Mid-Size Pickup

Yesterday, in a move that officially proves that absolutely everybody is hopping in on the pickup truck craze, Daimler AG and Mercedes announced that they will be partnering with Nissan to develop a new midsize pickup. Now, I know this sounds kind of terrible, but more options always = better, right?

I guess so.

Anyway, Mercedes said that the new pickup– which is due out by 2018/2019– will be produced for both commercial and private clients and will share many of the same underpinnings as the Nissan NP300.

The Nissan NP300

The Mercedes-Benz pickup will share some of the architecture with the all-new Nissan NP300 but it will be engineered and designed by Daimler to meet the specific needs of its customers,” Daimler said in a statement. “The vehicle will have all of Mercedes Benz’ distinctive characteristics and features.”

As far as it coming to the United States, though, well, there has been no official announcement stating that it will (fingers crossed), but the truck will be heading nearly everywhere else.

In fact, the company is planning on building the truck alongside the new Nissan NP3000 and a Renault-branded truck down in their Barcelona and Cordoba plants. There, the company plans to churn out a whopping 190,000 vehicles a year for the public, specifically the European, Australian, South African and Latin American markets. Wow.

I have a hard time picturing someone buying this heap of junk, but then again, I guess I never have been able to understand the global truck sensibilities. Of course why would I want to when the U.S. produces the best pickup trucks in the world, a fact that I don’t see changing anytime soon.