Mercedes Benz working on X6 competitor
 

From Autocar:
Merc 'CLS' SUV aims at X6

Mercedes-Benz is set to extend its line-up of dedicated SUVs with a new BMW X6-rivalling model called the GLS, according to highly placed sources at the German car maker.

Scheduled for launch in 2014, the new four-seater has been conceived around the same new unibody platform that underpins the third-generation M-class and the latest Jeep Grand Cherokee.

“After closely monitoring sales trends, we’ve concluded there is potential for an additional off-road model with a more sporting emphasis than the new M-class,” an insider revealed last week.

Part of a new wave of models due in the next five years, the GLS will forgo the practicality of the five-seat M-class for a more sporting four-seat interior, with a racier roofline and styling cues from the CLS saloon.

The obvious competitor is the BMW X6, which has been a surprise success with 120,000 sold worldwide since 2009, but it will also face competition in the shape of a new Audi Q6, planned for 2016. And a new Range Rover Sport will be on sale in 2013.

Further details are scarce, but powertrains should include turbocharged 3.5-litre V6 and 4.6 V8 petrols, plus a 3.0 V6 diesel.

Also planned is a diesel-electric hybrid that will share components with an E300 Hybrid that is due to be unveiled at the Frankfurt show in September.

Crowning the new line-up will be a BMW X6 M-rivalling model from AMG with a turbocharged 5.5-litre V8.

Assembly will be alongside the M-class at the company’s North American factory in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Odd how everyone laughed at BMW for producing the X6 saying it would never sell, yet now the sales are starting to rack up they all want a slice of the action. First Audi, now Mercedes. Methinks there may be other 'X6' clones to come yet...;)

Exactly!
Range Rover is also working on something.

...and don't forget that Acura horror! ;)

http://www.caradvice.com.au/wp-conte...rcedes-MLC.jpg

According to a report by Auto Bild in Germany, Mercedes-Benz has seen this segment of vehicle is a popular choice for buyers, with successful sales being reported of the BMW X6 and high sales expected of the new Range Rover Evoque.

As far as we know, the Mercedes-Benz MLC will be based on the M-Class four-wheel drive, although the style is said to take on more of an elegant coupe-like form, showcasing design trends seen on the new CLS.

If the MLC-Class does eventually hit the showrooms – predicted to take place some time in 2013/2014 – it is likely to be powered by the same petrol and diesel engine options available on the M-Class. Trim levels would also be shared, as well as a possible AMG version later down the track.

Agree with you too! Had some friends comment, 'it's only got 4 seats!"....
If I wanted a people hauler, I would have kept my Escalade!:nanana:

Mercedes to add fifth model at U.S. factory
Tuscaloosa will build a coupe-styled M class, sources say
Harald Hamprecht
Automotive News -- July 23, 2011 - 6:00 am ET

FRANKFURT -- Daimler AG will add a fifth Mercedes-Benz model at its U.S. assembly plant near Tuscaloosa, Ala., company sources told Automotive News Europe.

The model will be a variant of the Mercedes M-class crossover with a coupelike roofline. Production will likely start as soon as 2015, the sources said.

The new M-class body style will be positioned against the BMW X6 built in Spartanburg, S.C., and likely will be called MLC.

Mercedes is adding the M-class variant as part of a $2 billion investment in the Alabama site that was unveiled on Thursday. That project will pave the way for C-class production while providing tooling for new generations of the R class and G class as well as a redesigned M class that went into production this week.

An expanded M-class lineup would fit with Mercedes' original vision for the factory before the first M class was built in Alabama 14 years ago. Executives said then the "M" designation would eventually represent a family of vehicles beyond the inaugural SUV. To date, the M's variations have been primarily engine options.

Mercedes has a precedent for charting product plans more than four years out. In 2009, the company announced its intention to build the C class in Alabama – starting in 2014.

A Mercedes spokesman declined to comment on future product plans, nor on how much Tuscaloosa's capacity and headcount will be increased in the future. Production at the plant is already close to its 160,000-unit annual capacity, and the factory employs 2,800 people.

Mercedes' internal development code for the new M-class variant is C166.

Mercedes is battling German rival BMW for the title of best-selling luxury brand in the United States, following an 11-year reign by Toyota's Lexus.

Through June, BMW sold 113,705 of its namesake vehicles in the United States. Mercedes, not counting its Sprinter commercial vans, had 110,926 sales. Lexus, hampered by the March earthquake in Japan, sold 88,010 vehicles.

Last year, BMW globally sold 46,404 units of the X6 and 102,178 of its sibling model, the X5, also built in Spartanburg.

Read more: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dl...#ixzz1SyL9NNas

has the X6 really been selling?and didnt acuraz ZDX come out before the X6(in the u.s.).as for mercedes does this disaster plan to be finished before or after mercedes teams up with infiniti?

Mercedes plans BMW X6 rival - Autocar.co.uk

http://rumors.automobilemag.com/merc...ant-82781.html

Official pic from MB USA factory.