Uncamouflaged 2014 Mercedes Benz GLA crossover spotted

The 2014 Mercedes Benz GLA crossover is due for an unveil at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show, which is days away. The crossover, based on the Modular Front Architecture (MFA), will be the entry level SUV in the German luxury car maker's range. The first completely un-camouflaged image of the GLA's rear end has made its way onto the interweb.

The GLA crossover, which will share many parts including its engine line up with the MFA based cars such as the A-Class, B-Class and CLA models, is expected to be sold in the Indian market as well. Both petrol and diesel engines could be offered on the India-spec GLA, which could be launched here as early as 2014. A 7 speed dual clutch gearbox could be standard for the India-spec version of the GLA. 

The crossover's top end variants will get an all wheel drive system while the base models will make do with the front wheel drive layout. Mercedes Benz has been doing good numbers this year, having moved into the second place in India, in terms of sales volumes. The arrival of the GLA crossover is expected to give Mercedes Benz the much needed entry level product to take on the likes of the Audi Q3 and the BMW X1. 

The GLA crossover is expected to be priced at a level that's comparable to the likes of the Q3 and the X1. So, expect a sub-30 lakh rupee price point for the Mercedes Benz crossover. According to a report on AutocarPro, Mercedes Benz India CEO, Mr Eberhard Kern, has hinted at the possibility of his firm launching the CLA sedan and GLA crossover in India, to meet the growing demand for affordably priced luxury cars.

With the Chakan assembly facility expanded to 20,000 cars/year, Mercedes Benz is likely to assemble the MFA based luxury cars in India from 2014. Along with the A-Class and B-Class models, the CLA sedan and the GLA crossover could complete the list of MFA based cars to be assembled at Chakan. With the depreciating Indian rupee, it is imperative that luxury car makers adopt the CKD assembly route in order to maintain car prices at affordable levels. 

Spyshot courtesy AutoJunk.NL