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As if there weren’t already enough crossovers in Mercedes-Benz’s lineup, the luxury automaker is preparing to bring a couple more into the fold: A completely new model dubbed the GLB and a slopier, “Coupe” version of the subcompact GLA to take on BMW’s thoroughly evolved X2.
Speaking about plans for the company’s immensely versatile A-Class platform, Mercedes CEO Dieter Zetsche recently told Top Gear, “We will further expand the SUVs. We need something more SUV than the GLA,” apparently referring to the upcoming GLB. According to the British auto publication, it’ll come with three-rows and be billed as a sort of mini G-Wagen.
Dr. Z continues, “The new BMW X2 is basically like the [current] GLA and you will see a new GLA. As in other segments, we’ll have two interpretations,” referring to the hunchbacked “Coupe” versions of the automaker’s bigger GLC and GLE crossovers. Those models compete against the BMW X4 and X6, respectively. “So the GLA will be more in the SUV direction, and that will expand our scope. It gives us the possibility of doing something between the A-Class and the GLA.”
Unveiled in early February, the redesigned A-Class hatch will be the basis for a total of eight different Mercedes models worldwide. The A-Class itself, however, won’t be available in the U.S.
We’ve reached out to Mercedes for further comment and will update this story if we hear back. The vanilla, non-Coupe Mercedes GLA starts at $33,400.
UPDATE: In an email to The Drive, a Mercedes spokesperson said: “I’m afraid we that we don’t have any more info to share on the products that are referred to in the article.”
