The seven-seater, based on the same platform as the A-Class, will give birth to yet another family of Mercedes crossovers, at a time when such cars are ruling the sales charts.
Rumor is the GLB will be ready for an official introduction by the end of the year, with sales said to start in 2020 for both conventional and GLB 35 and 45 variants. Later down the line, a plug-in hybrid and even electric variants are to be added.
Apart from this unveiling, other big names for Mercedes this year will join the display. Soon after the world premiere of the Mercedes-AMG A 35 sedan in March, the Geman carmaker announced another version of the high-performance vehicle, this time designed exclusively for the Chinese market, will star at the 2019 Shanghai Auto Show next week.
Mercedes did not provide many details about the features that will make the car an exclusive deal for the Chinese market, apart for the fact that the car will become the “new entry-level model“ in the lineup and will come with “lots of room.”
Whatever the changes to the A 35 will be, it’s unlikely they will have anything to do with the car’s powertrain. As presented in late March, the A 35 to be sold elsewhere in the world is powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo engine that develops 306 hp and 400 Nm of torque.
When paired to an AMG Speedshift DCT 7G dual-clutch transmission, the car has an 0 to 100 km/h acceleration figure of 4.8 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph).
Aside from the AMG A 35 sedan and the GLB, Mercedes will also show in Shanghai as a first for the Chinese market the EQC and the new GLE. The new B-Class, A-Class – including the long wheelbase version – and the AMG GT C Roadster will also be on display.
