Local testing for 'Benz ute

Mercedes-Benz Australia Pacific will play a role in the development of the Mercedes-Benz's new Nissan Navara-based utility, with local engineers to begin work with prototypes in the not-too-distant future.

Speaking at the recent launch of the new Mercedes-Benz Vito van and Valente people-mover in Sydney, Mercedes-Benz PR chief David McCarthy said Mercedes-Benz Australia Pacific would play a part in the prototype's evolution.

"The really important thing here is we are going to be doing local testing [of the new ute]," he said.

"It [testing] hasn't begun yet but hopefully it will start next year."

Mercedes-Benz first went public with its plans for the model in March, also releasing a teaser sketch (pictured), but the company has been working on the Nissan Navara-based offering for a number of years.

"It's not like we're starting from absolute scratch," said McCarthy.

"A lot of the work has already been done but we [Mercedes-Benz Australia Pacific] will have input and we'll do some testing that will feed back into the finished product."

Mercedes-Benz approached the Renault-Nissan Alliance to source a starting point for the new model which – according to an earlier CAR Magazine report and following standard 'Benz nomenclature – will be called the GLT.

While the vehicle will be based on a frame taken from Nissan's new NP300 Navara, McCarthy stressed that the finished product would be a true Mercedes-Benz in every other respect.

"We're sharing a platform with Nissan so think frame rails [only] – the suspension tuning, the four-wheel drive system, the engine, the interior, the styling, the safety kit will all be ours," he said.

"This won't be a Holden Nova/Toyota Corolla. It is going to be a Mercedes-Benz ute, and it is being built and designed with those unique Mercedes-Benz qualities."

The finished GLT will be available in a variety of body styles, including dual-cab, and offered in low, mid and high-range grade trims. It will be produced in Nissan production facilities in Cordoba, Argentina, and Barcelona, Spain. The Argentine plant will supply vehicles to markets in the Americas, including the USA should it decide to accept the model, while the Spanish plant will handle production for other world markets, including Australia.

Using the Nissan Navara base has effectively allowed Mercedes-Benz to fast-track the model to market, although this isn't the first time the three-pointed star has investigated this path. It was previously looking to release a Navara-based ute as early as 2017, before those plans – which also involved the adoption of the Navara's engine – were shelved.

Apparently the engines failed to meet in-house validation criteria for noise, vibration and harshness.

McCarthy says the decision to use an existing frame is a logical one.

"That makes sense because other than the G Wagon, which is a completely different vehicle, Mercedes-Benz doesn't actually have the experience in that area and Nissan does," he said.

"Nissan has come up with a new vehicle and we're going to make it into a Mercedes-Benz. Australia is unique in many ways, whether it's trucks, cars or vans, and we [Mercedes-Benz Australia Pacific] want to do as much as we can to make sure that Australia has as much input [as possible] – and not just in specification, but in terms of the capabilities of the vehicle."

McCarthy said the level of interest generated by the impending model was "extraordinary", and that it would, when available, satisfy a very real demand.

"Mercedes-Benz effectively started prestige SUVs with the ML, not discounting the original Jeep Wagoneer, and for utes we thinks there's a real market [for the GLT]," he said.

Indeed, that market ran to over 170,000 units here in Australia in 2014, with 133,566 of them accredited to a four-wheel-drive format.

While Mercedes-Benz will have its work cut out for it in chasing down Australia's top-sellers like Toyota's HiLux and Ford's Ranger, it will certainly be drawing its sights on Volkswagen's Amarok, which accounted for over 8000 new registrations last year.

While Mercedes-Benz had previously flagged a four-year timeline to bring the new ute to showroom floors, McCarthy said the model might arrive a little bit earlier.

"Hopefully it [availability] won't stretch to 2019; 2018 would be good," he said.