Former Detroit Lions general manager Matt Millen was famous for his ‘stay the course’ mentality, and we all know how that turned out for Millen and the 0-16 Lions. But that kind of stubbornness can also be found in the automotive world as Mercedes-Benz refuses to give up on its faltering R-Class SUV/crossover/minivan.
Mercedes-Benz had high hopes for its R-Class when it first launched back in the fall of 2005, but the automotive oddity hit its peak in early 2006 and has been on the downswing ever since. Mercedes has even referred to the R-Class as a “lesson learned”.
In early 2006, Mercedes dealers were selling the R-Class at a clip of 2,500 units per month. However, that figure has decreased in almost every subsequent month, resulting in just 7,733 R-Class sales in 2008 – a 40.7 percent drop off from 2007. Mercedes-Benz sold about 18,000 R-Class CUVs in 2007, which was a 28 percent decrease from 2006.
At launch, Mercedes-Benz targeted 25,000 R-Class sales per year.
But despite its epic failure, the German automaker refuses to give up on the odd-shaped R-Class. The R-Class has already received two updates, with another one on the way for 2010. However, Mercedes-Benz isn’t too optimistic that things will get better anytime soon, and admits the R-Class tries a bit too hard to be all things to all people. “We have reached the level we can sell it,” Ernst Lieb, CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA, told Automotive News. “We plan to stay at this volume.”
