Recent media reports suggest Mercedes-Benz may add the next-generation A-Class to its US lineup and that the model may be produced at the joint Infiniti-Mercedes plant in Aguascalientes, Mexico. The A-Class is in its second generation, with a mid-cycle facelift arriving on the European market later this year.
Significance: Mercedes had been rumoured to bring the current-generation A-Class to the United States with the 2014 model year, though that did not come to fruition. However, the brand is seeing success to date with the CLA sedan and GLA crossover, its current entry-level products. Adding the A-Class to the US market may assist the company with meeting 2025 fuel-economy regulations. While the reports have suggested production in Mexico, IHS Automotive does not yet forecast the addition of the vehicle to Mercedes' North American production base. We do forecast the vehicle could arrive in the United States as soon as mid-2016, which would be the current vehicle, followed by the new generation in 2018. IHS sees potential for US sales in the range of 8,000 units per annum. The A-Class shares the MFA platform of the CLA and GLA. Mercedes is, however, forecast to add a new compact sedan for North America in 2018, which will be produced at the Aguascalientes, Mexico, plant; the compact sedan is due to be followed by a compact crossover, with production of the two models combined forecast to reach 165,000 units in 2020. The MFA platform, shared across Mercedes' CLA, GLA, A-Class and B-Class, and several upcoming Infiniti models, is forecast to be under 700,000 units of production by 2018.
