A-class sedan right for U.S., Mercedes says

With the latest redesign of its entry-level car family coming to market in 2018, Mercedes-Benz finally has an A class suited for U.S. consumers, says the brand's global sales chief, Britta Seeger.

Mercedes will offer the A class in a sedan body style for the first time. That is the variant slated to go on sale in the U.S. next fall as the brand's new entry-level vehicle.

"We truly believe that now with the body style we have the right answer for the market," Seeger told Automotive News.

Likely customers for the A-class sedan in the U.S. will probably be younger in general, with many of them new to the brand, Seeger said.

"It's a very attractive car for younger people," she said. "But not only for younger people — it can have a broad audience because it's a nice entrance into the Mercedes-Benz family."

Seeger declined to say whether Mercedes will price the A class at less than $30,000 in the U.S., as has been speculated. "We will see," she said.

The decision to bring the A class to the U.S. comes after years of back and forth on whether luxury consumers in this market would accept such a small car. The reluctance largely had been based on the existing hatchback body style of the A class. But Mercedes decided to do a sedan variant with the coming generation for markets such as China, in addition to the U.S. The company showed a design concept of the A-class sedan in April at the Shanghai auto show. In June, it showed U.S. dealers the vehicle and confirmed its on-sale plan for 2018.

The redesigned A class will be built on the company's MFA2 platform, an evolution of its Modular Front Architecture underpinning other small front-wheel-drive vehicles, including the CLA and GLA crossover. The A-class sedan is expected to be built at a Nissan-Daimler joint venture assembly plant opening in Mexico.