The taller sibling to the Mercedes-Benz A-Class hatchback has been pulled from Australian showrooms amid declining sales, and the updated model won’t come here either.
The Mercedes-Benz B-Class hatchback – the taller version of the A-Class hatchback – has been culled from the Australian line-up after posting a sales decline in eight of the past nine years.
Mercedes-Benz Australia previously announced plans to introduce a facelifted B-Class between July and September 2023, however it has confirmed today the updated vehicle will not be introduced, and the B-Class will be dropped from local showrooms.
Sales of the B-Class have been in decline for eight of the past nine years – or nearly half of its 18-year run in Australian showrooms – and the latest data shows it is outsold by the A-Class hatch and sedan by 10-to-one.
A Mercedes-Benz spokesperson told Drive there is no new stock of the current, pre-facelift B-Class remaining in Australian showrooms, though there are a handful of demonstrator examples in some dealers.
The B-Class will remain on sale in Europe, where it is due to receive an update imminently with revised styling, new technology and additional mild-hybrid engine options.
The nameplate was introduced in Australia in late 2005, and has seen three generations, the most recent arriving in 2019 in B180 and B200 petrol forms.
Deliveries peaked in 2013 with 3248 vehicles reported as sold, and in 2010 the success of the B-Class in Australia – as well as close styling and size similarities between the two vehicles – saw the A-Class axed from local showrooms.
The B-Class recorded its worst sales year in Australia in 2022 since the original arrived in 2005, with 284 sales reported – a tenth of the 2840 A-Class hatchbacks and sedan deliveries reported.
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