Mercedes pitches GLB compact crossover at families

Mercedes-Benz is pitching the GLB, its first compact crossover with seven seats, at families who are looking for a high-riding alternative to station wagons.

The GLB will arrive arrive in dealerships at the end of the year, Mercedes said in a statement. The automaker introduced the GLB in Salt Lake City on Monday.

The GLB is the combination of "our SUV genes with the clear lines of our compact vehicles," said Mathias Geisen, a product manager for Mercedes.

That will make the GLB especially attractive to U.S. buyers, Geisen predicted. "The capability of handling seven people in a compact footprint in larger cities will be highly appreciated," he said.

The GLB will slot between the GLA and the GLC in the Mercedes crossover/SUV lineup.

The GLB underscores the fragmentation of the premium crossover market, as luxury brands pursue new entries on the affordability scale.

"As SUVs now outsell passenger cars in the U.S., there is opportunity for more variety and incremental models that address specific target buyers," said Ed Kim, an analyst with AutoPacific. Mercedes "will have to carefully position the GLB class to minimize negative impact on GLC-class sales," he said.

"The GLB demonstrates that there is now more than one type of entry luxury SUV customer, and Mercedes-Benz now has two different models that can cast a much wider net," Kim said.

But with its optional three-row seating, the GLB risks cannibalizing demand for the slightly larger GLC. Mercedes "will have to carefully position the GLB class to minimize negative impact on GLC-class sales," Kim said.

The GLB is being built in Mexico and China.

In Europe the GLB will be offered with 1.3-liter and 2.0-liter gasoline engines and a 2.0-liter diesel that already meets the EU's 2020 RDE (Real Driving Emissions) level 2 regulation. The U.S gets only the 2.0-liter gasoline engine.

The GLB will be offered in an all-wheel-drive variant that will include an off-road package.

The GLB's load compartment capacity for the five-seat versions is 560 liters to 1755 liters on a par with a wagon, Mercedes says. Its optional third-row seats fit two medium-sized occupants, Mercedes said. The seats that can be folded for extra cargo capacity.

The instrument panel in the GLB consists of a single piece, which has optical cutouts in the driver and front passenger area. A widescreen cockpit faces the driver, while the functions and displays are controlled via Mercedes' AI-powered multimedia system, MBUX, or Mercedes-Benz User Experience.