2019 Mercedes-Benz GLC to be imported to U.S. from India
09-26-18 | 11:16 AM
#1
2019 Mercedes-Benz GLC to be imported to U.S. from India
It joins the Ford EcoSport as Indian exports to the U.S.
Mercedes-Benz is working on a refresh for its bestselling GLC compact crossover, and now comes a report from Automotive News that the luxury automaker will begin importing the vehicle from India after previously importing it from Bremen, Germany.
A spokesman told AN that the company will export the GLC from its plant in Pune in western India, with deliveries starting to arrive in the U.S. next month. Introduced for 2016 as the replacement for the GLK, the GLC is Mercedes' top-selling luxury compact crossover, and its U.S. sales are on a tear, up 57.7 percent through August to 44,517 and on pace to eclipse its full-year 2017 sales of 48,643 before the month is up.
India is seen as an interesting, if unconventional, choice amid the larger trade war that has seen the U.S. impose new tariffs on Chinese-made goods, including auto parts, and the Trump administration's threat to levy 25 tariffs on European-made cars. Ford has also been importing its EcoSport crossover from its plant in Chennai, India, the first car built in that country to be sold stateside.
Based on spy shots we brought you over the summer, the new GLC looks set for a redesigned front fascia. It's getting new headlights to match the design of the CLS-Class and AMG GT models, with a new grille. Assuming the engines are carried over from the current generation, plan on a turbocharged four-cylinder for the GLC300 and GLC350e hybrid, plus the twin-turbo V6 for the AMG GLC43 and the twin-turbo V8 for the AMG GLC63.
A spokesman told AN that the company will export the GLC from its plant in Pune in western India, with deliveries starting to arrive in the U.S. next month. Introduced for 2016 as the replacement for the GLK, the GLC is Mercedes' top-selling luxury compact crossover, and its U.S. sales are on a tear, up 57.7 percent through August to 44,517 and on pace to eclipse its full-year 2017 sales of 48,643 before the month is up.
India is seen as an interesting, if unconventional, choice amid the larger trade war that has seen the U.S. impose new tariffs on Chinese-made goods, including auto parts, and the Trump administration's threat to levy 25 tariffs on European-made cars. Ford has also been importing its EcoSport crossover from its plant in Chennai, India, the first car built in that country to be sold stateside.
Based on spy shots we brought you over the summer, the new GLC looks set for a redesigned front fascia. It's getting new headlights to match the design of the CLS-Class and AMG GT models, with a new grille. Assuming the engines are carried over from the current generation, plan on a turbocharged four-cylinder for the GLC300 and GLC350e hybrid, plus the twin-turbo V6 for the AMG GLC43 and the twin-turbo V8 for the AMG GLC63.
09-26-18 | 01:21 PM
#4
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 31,667
Likes: 73
From: ON/NY
Yes and no. The model was exported to the US from Germany, it would likely never be built in the US anyway. But if the US is not careful, like what happened with the clothing industry, China and India will decimate the US capacity to produce competitive vehicles in the United States.
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