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NEWS
Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe for Detroit debut?
And three-pointed star's tuning house confirms sales chase with M Performance-style sub-brandLook closely at the sketch reproduced here. That SUV on the left? It's Stuttgart's answer to the BMW X6. Quietly trotted out without fanfare, the picture shows what is believed to be a Mercedes GLE Coupe all tizzied up in the style of an AMG Sport variant.
Just to explain that, the AMG Sport brand is a response from Mercedes-AMG to BMW's M Performance Automobiles range, with the tuning elves of Affalterbach committed to doubling current (record-breaking) sales by 2017.
Back in August we revealed that Mercedes-AMG planned to introduce a lower tier model range to slot in between traditional AMG models and high-end (non-AMG) Mercedes models. That plan has now been confirmed and Mercedes-AMG will debut the new range at the North American International Auto Show at Detroit in January. The GLE Coupe looks like a chance to be one of the two AMG Sport models making their debut there, and it may also feature as a mainstream Benz model as well.
Confusingly, the new 'AMG Sport' sub brand models will be positioned above those already bearing 'Sport' in their title. So presumably there will be an AMG Sport version of the A-Class to sit between the A 250 Sport and the A 45 AMG, as one example.
For Mercedes-AMG it's all about filling a niche that lies between the Benz/AMG model ranges, while expanding the options for buyers who lust after traditional AMG models, but don't have the disposable income to get there. By retaining the younger buyers working their way up the corporate ladder, AMG can organically expand its sales volumes, rather than lose those buyers at the point in their career where they can afford something better than an A 250 Sport, but can't quite manage an A 45 AMG.
At the other end of the range the AMG GT is an important foil to the SLS, and will sell in larger numbers than the Gullwing model, adding incrementally to the total sales volume. The GT and other volume-selling models like the C 63 AMG and the A 45 AMG have driven the company to a new sales record, exceeding 40,000 units globally for this year.
"We are proud of these successes, as they provide the basis for the next stage of our growth strategy, which we are now launching," says Tobias Moers (pictured), Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-AMG GmbH. "In the next three years we aim to more than double our total sales for 2013."
"The new Sport models represent a convincing proposition for our customers: genuine sports car technology becomes accessible, appealing to an even broader-ranging clientele worldwide. For all our dynamic growth, we remain true to our brand claim of 'Driving Performance'."
While the AMG Sport models won't get the full AMG performance treatment, they will deliver higher engine output, according to the manufacturer.
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Written byCarsales Staff
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