With total sales of over a million, the W168 Mercedes A-Class is possibly the best selling commercial flop ever. We chart its fall.
The 2012 announcement of Mercedes’ current-generation A-Class and its re-alignment in ethos and market position was viewed by most observers as an expedient business decision based upon 15 torrid years in the compact car game. While Daimler’s creative U-turn elicited little by way of overt criticism, it could equally be regarded as a clear symbol that the Baden-Württemburg car giant conclusively lost the argument.
The W168 A-Class is a fascinating study as much for what it was as what it came to represent, charting the loss of influence wielded by Mercedes’ once inviolate engineering function. Ultimately however, it illustrates the limits to which an upmarket brand can realistically Continue reading “Fallen Star”
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