WASHINGTON -- The new front-wheel-drive CLA compact sedan that went on sale last month will be Mercedes-Benz's conquest vehicle, with a target of 30,000 annual U.S. sales within a few years, says Steve Cannon, CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA.
"We did not come to a volume price point to do niche volume," Cannon said in an interview at a press event here. "As we ramp up, we see the volume potential of at least 30,000 over the course of time.
"Our only constraint will be global production capacity."
Mercedes-Benz is aiming for a similar annual volume for the GLA fwd crossover that goes on sale next September, he said. Both vehicles are based on a new Mercedes-Benz fwd platform also being used for the B-class Electric Drive plug-in that goes on sale in the United States early next year. The only variant the United States did not take was the smaller A-class hatchback.
And for the longer term, "We want [the CLA] to take the place of a C-class volume that we have managed to build to 75,000 units," he said. Cannon didn't give a target date.