The Alabama-built Mercedes-Benz R-Class will, for the time being, continue to be assembled in Alabama. Mercedes-Benz will not, however, be selling the R-Class in Alabama, nor will Mercedes-Benz sell R-Class wagons in any other part of the United States. There are surely a handful of R-Class variants on dealer lots across the U.S., so the rare R-Class fanboi can now be seen negotiating a rip-roaring good deal with a Mercedes sales manager somewhere.
The R-Class’s demise was as anticipated as the rising sun. From the beginning, it wasn’t a popular car. 2006, its second year on sale in the U.S., was its best. 18,168 were sold, or 7.3% of all Mercedes-Benzes sold in America that year. The very next year, sales fell 28.3% to 13,031 as the R-Class accounted for just 5.1% of all Benz sales. By 2011, when R-Class sales had fallen to 2385 units, its worst year on record, the tall wagon registered only 0.9% of all Mercedes-Benz USA sales. Click the chart below for a larger view in order to track historical R-Class sales.
According to Yahoo Autos, the R-Class will continue as part of Mercedes-Benz Canada’s lineup. As it was in the U.S., 2006 was also the R-Class’s best Canadian sales year. But in 2011, though sales were down 46.1% from the 2006 high, sales had risen 26.2% from 2010. And in 2010, sales had risen 32.5% from 2009, the worst Canadian R-Class sales year since its inaugural outing. Still, it’s strange that Mercedes-Benz Canada is forging ahead with the R-Class given that it made up just 1.7% of the company’s volume last year. Through the first two months of 2012, Canadian R-Class sales are level, having grown 16.7% in January before falling 14.3% in February. Conversely, in the U.S., R-Class sales slid 44% in January and 8.4% in February for a year-to-date plunge of 28.5%.
Mercedes-Benz USA sold 25,139 GL-Class SUVs in 2011 along with 24,310 GLK350s and 35,835 M-Class utility vehicles. Through 1/6th of 2012, GL-Class sales are up 6.5%, the GLK is up 3.7%, and a new generation of mid-range SUVs have seen M-Class sales shoot up 68.1%. Mercedes-Benz still sells a version of the E-Class should wagon lovers require a three-pointed star on their grille. That’s actually a surprising fact given the number of cool station wagons not available for sale in the United States. But the GL, GLK, and M are the real reasons Mercedes-Benz can afford to strip the R-Class from their lineup. They may also be the reasons Mercedes-Benz extinguishes the CLS Shooting Brake a few years after introducing that beastly beauty, too.
Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Monthly & Yearly Mercedes-Benz R-Class Sales Figures
U.S. Auto Sales By Brand – 2011 Year End
Top 30 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America – February 2012
That is more than just good news for the dealerships in Alabama. Imagine the tons of benefits–jobs,local revenue,surrounding business, etc– it realized from not following that outsourcing fad to "weather the times" as most automobile companies have followed suit. Talk about Corporate Social Responsibility done with class–truly MB! second hand cars derby