DETROIT MOTOR SHOW: Eight new small Benzes on the way

A small SUV and an A-Class sedan are expected to be part of Mercedes-Benz’s next-generation small-car family, which will expand from the current five to eight members.

The expansion will go ahead despite the likelihood of Nissan’s involvement with the ‘MFA’ front/all-wheel drive architecture not continuing into a second generation.

The current line-up of Benz MFA models includes the A-Class hatch, B-Class wagon, GLA crossover and two CLA body shapes — sedan and shooting brake (wagon).

These MFA-based models — which began rolling out in 2012 with the third-generation A-Class — have proved an extraordinary success for Benz, accounting for 636,903 sales in 2016 alone as it reclaimed the number one global luxury title from BMW for the first time since 2005.

Those cars have also wooed a whole group of first time buyers to the brand, many of them younger than the usually Benz buyer.

As we have reported previously, the first A-Class sedan is expected alongside the next-generation hatch when MFA2 cars start rolling out in 2018.

The SUV is rumoured to be a mini-me version of the classic G-Class. The third model is as yet unknown.

The model expansion was announced at a Benz media function on the eve of the Detroit motor show by the new marketing and sales chief Britta Seeger.

“We’re convinced that this [MFA] success story will continue, which is why we intend to expand our family of compact models – from five at present to eight attractive members,” she said.

Global company boss Dieter Zetsche expanded on that in a roundtable with automotive journalists at the show today.

He confirmed the plan was locked in whether Nissan continued its co-operation or not.

“You have about eight members of this future generation — future family — and this is defined and independent of the extent we co-operate with our partner,” Zetsche said.

“It will have no impact whatsoever, we have a clear and defined portfolio.”

Asked whether one of the eight would be an SUV, Zetsche said: “It’s part of the growth.”

But he wouldn’t comment on the prospect of an A-Class sedan: “We are not at the point of time to announce our future compact car product portfolio.”

Zetsche played down any concerns over Nissan ending its involvement in the MFA partnership, from which luxury brand Infiniti’s Q30 and QX30 models have recently resulted.

“From the get-go this co-operation was based on the rationale of added value to all partners involved, so it’s not a co-operation for its own sake.

“According to this logic, in the development phase we have to challenge and question these projects if they are still promising to provide this added value to customers and when we have doubts we have to discuss and see if we can make them successful or not.

“That is where we are right now in the discussion about shared platform for the next-generation front-wheel drive compact and the final answer is staying out [not decided].

“But whatever it will be it will not have any significant impact on our co-operation which both of us see as a kind of a role model of calibration of independent companies in our industry.”

According to a Reuters news agency report Nissan pulled out of the MFA2 because Infiniti sales were not performing well enough to absorb Mercedes' technology costs.