Mercedes-Benz X-CLass ‘appalling’, says BMW (photos)

A senior BMW executive has slammed arch-rival Mercedes-Benz’s X-Class as “appalling” while confirming his company is investigating a high-performance ute of its own.

And BMW Australia has thrown its support behind bringing the load-lugger to market, Motoring.com.au reports.

Hendrik von Kunheim, BMW’s senior vice president in charge of the Asia, and South Africa (including Australia), said he had been disappointed by the X-Class, which has been developed using the ladder frame chassis of the Nissan Navara.

“When you look now at our German competitor from Stuttgart I think that product (X-Class) is appalling,” von Kunheim told Australian media bluntly at the Frankfurt motor show overnight. “You would have expected something more serious. 

“I saw that car (X-Class) in Geneva and was actually disappointed. Very disappointed.

“They can do better, they build fantastic cars, but this one was a disappointment.”

Von Kunheim, the son of BMW’s legendary former boss Eberhard von Kunheim, said he wasn’t alone in thinking so negatively about the X-Class, which goes on-sale in Australia in early 2018.

“I listened to some of your (media) colleagues from other countries. They said it was very cheap, very plasticky, not very much Mercedes-like what you would expect.”

While unimpressed by the X-Class, von Kunheim made it clear he saw a BMW pick-up as a good idea. He even showed off a phone cover created by his staff that included a digitally-created image of a BMW pick-up.

“There is a pick-up on my phone cover just to remember when I am talking to the board what are my priorities,” von Kunheim explained.