Mercedes Benz launches A-Class and B-Class ‘Edition 1’ in Hyderabad

Mercedes-Benz India celebrates the success of its New Generation Cars in the South: Launches the special A-Class and B-Class ‘Edition 1’ in Hyderabad

• The A-Class and the B-Class sustained customer interest and play a key role in Mercedes-Benz India’s product strategy
• More than 2500 units of the New Generation Cars on Indian roads are contributing close to 20% of the Company’s sales volume
• One out of every five Mercedes-Benz sold in India is either an A-Class or a B-Class
• Edition 1 comes in the diesel variants with Panoramic sunroof, electrically adjustable front passenger seat, reverse camera and comfort suspension
• Only 200 units of A-Class and B-Class ‘Edition 1’ available for sale
• New Generation Cars receives high acceptance in Southern market which witnessed strong year-on-year growth

Hyderabad: Celebrating the overwhelming success of its New Generation Cars portfolio comprising the A-Class and B-Class in India, Mercedes-Benz India launched the exclusive A-Class and B-Class ‘Edition V in Hyderabad today. Available in diesel variant only, the A-Class and B-Class ‘Edition V features some key enhancements making the car even more appealing to its young audience. The A-Class and B-Class ‘Edition 19 was launched by Boris Fitz, Vice President, Sales & Network Development, Mercedes-Benz India and Yashwant Jhabakh, Managing Director, Mahavir Motors.

Boris Fitz, Vice President, Sales & Network Development, Mercedes-Benz India commented, “The A-Class and B-Class New Generation Cars successfully captured the imagination of young Indians who were new to luxury motoring and delineated the changing preference of the youth in today’s social milieu, who increasingly prefer compact luxury as an integral part of their lifestyle. The launch of the 'Edition 1’ is also an acknowledgement of the strategic significance of the A~Class and B-Class in Mercedes-Benz's product strategy. We are confident of the success of our New Generation Cars in the southern market which we expect to continue to introduce newer customer groups to the Three Pointed Star.”

"The launch of the A-Class and B-Class in India was a very significant strategic decision that we took at Mercedes-Benz. Today, the success of these two products not only signifies the aptness of our decision, but also underlines the maturity of the emerging young customers who clearly prefers to own our ‘New Generation Cars. Hyderabad and other southern markets continue to remain established growth markets for the brand and we are highly enthused by the strong growth that the brand has witnessed in these markets. The increasing customer preference for our New Generation Cars as well for the other products in the portfolio is confidence boosting. We will pursue our growth strategy in the southern markets by focusing on increased the customer engagements and qualitative network expansion.” Boris Fitz further added.

With the launch of the new A-Class and B-Class, Mercedes-Benz India pioneered the Compact Luxury and Luxury Touring segments respectively in India and offered the young Indian customers two products that reflect their own lifestyle and a right product which they have been waiting for. While the A-Class is associated with being cool and trendy by young Indians primarily because of Mercedes-Benz’s fresh design dynamism, the new B-Class Luxury Tourer is designed for young families with an active lifestyle. While the new A-Class instantly became the ‘pulse of the new generation’, the new B-Class remained the preferred luxury tourer with its perfect blend of utility of a SUV, ride quality of a sedan and versatility of an MUV.

A-Class ‘Edition V:
The A-Class ‘Edition V features some key additions, making the car even more attractive than before. The A-Class ‘Edition 1’offers the globally renowned freshness of Mercedes- Benz’s design dynamism. The car also raises the benchmark significantly for efficient driving dynamics for the Indian road conditions and is equipped with comfort suspension. The car has the ECO start/stop function as standard, which makes the A-Class ‘Edition 1* particularly economical. The A-Class ‘Edition V underlines that safety for Mercedes-Benz, is always the top priority. With 7 airbags, the ‘Edition V features ESP (Electronic Stability Program), helping to minimize the loss of control of the car during emergency braking, ASR (Acceleration Skid Control), electric parking brake, ABS (Antilock Braking System), Brake Assist System, Attention Assist and Hill Start Assist. All these safety features in cohesion, make the A-Class ‘Edition 1’one of the safest cars on Indian roads. The A-Class 'Edition 1’comes with a panoramic sunroof that adds a sporty touch to the car. The A-Class ‘Edition 1’ also gets electrically adjustable front passenger seats enhancing convenience for the passenger. A reverse camera and a rear centre armrest are two of the several changes that have been incorporated in the A-Class 'Edition 1'. A high gloss black exterior mirror housing and the Tremolite grey 17” 5-double spoke alloys in new design with high gloss black hub caps completes the dynamic exterior looks. The matt black decals with ‘Edition 1* moniker adds to the overall exclusive appeal of the vehicle. A distinct matt aluminium ‘Edition 1’ badge is present on the headliner.

B-Class ‘Edition 1’:
The B-Class has been the first of Mercedes-Benz’s New Generation Cars to be launched in India and boasts of a sporty design. This is coupled with a 7G-DCT Dual Clutch Transmission with paddle shift in combination with a multi-function steering wheel, which is normally found in high end sports cars like the SLS AMG. Mercedes-Benz’s core values of safety and reliability have been infused into the B-Class as it comprises 7 airbags, a first for any car in this segment, also featuring Attention Assist, Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) with Acceleration Skid Control (ASR), Hill Start Assist with HOLD function, Brake Assist System (BAS) and a tyre pressure loss warning indicator which makes it one of the safest Luxury Tourer. The B-Class ‘Edition 1* now features a reverse camera and a rear centre armrest. The car now also features a panoramic sunroof which lends a sporty touch to its exterior. In addition, the car also adds convenience to the passenger with the electrically adjustable front passenger seat. The B-Class ‘Edition 1* comes equipped with a Rear Seat Entertainment System which is a key addition to the car. The car for the first time also offers a sporty new colour, the Jupiter Red. To render a very dynamic look, the B-Class ‘Edition 1* has high gloss black exterior mirror housings. External additions do not limit to these and include matt black decals with ‘Edition 1* moniker and also high gloss black hub caps for the 16 inch 5- twin spoke light alloy wheels painted in matt black. A distinct matt aluminium ‘Edition V badge is present on the headliner.

Power and Transmission: A-Class and B-Class ‘Edition V The engines of A-Class and B-Class 'Edition V are mated with the 7G-DCT 7 speed dual¬clutch automatic transmission and have 2.2 liter 4 cylinder diesel engines. The A-Class and B-Class ‘Edition 1* have displacement of 2143 cc with a four cylinder engine which produces 250 Nm of torque @ 1400-2800 rpm. The rated outputs of both the cars are 80 kW @ 3200- 4400 rpm and both the vehicles reach a top speed of 190 km/h. The B-Class has a 50 liter tank capacity and an impressive mileage of 19.0 Kmpl which provides the perfect touring capabilities to this fascinating vehicle. While the A-Class' fuel efficiency ensures a 1000 km run with a tank full of diesel.

The A-Class and the B-Class 'Edition V are priced at Rs. 28.40 lakhs and Rs. 31.0 lakhs, ex- showroom Hyderabad and are available for sate across all Mercedes-Benz dealerships in the region.

About Mercedes-Benz India:
Established in 1994, Mercedes-Benz India Pvt. Ltd. pioneered the luxury car market in India and boasts of more than 128 years of cutting edge innovation in the luxury automobile industry globally. With a world class production facility spread over 100 acres in Chakan, near Pune, set up in 2009 and an independent assembly facility for passenger cars; the facility is among the fastest green-field operations ever to be created and is rated among the top most CKD plants of Mercedes-Benz, globally. Mercedes-Benz India product portfolio comprises the locally produced S-Class, E-Class, C-Class, GL-Class and the M-Class. Completely Built Imported cars include the A-Class, CLS-Class, SLK-Class and the luxury tourer B-Class etc. The product portfolio also comprises offering the iconic off-roader G 63 AMG as well as a wide range of other AMG performance cars like the C 63 AMG, E 63 AMG, SLK 55 AMG, GL 63 AMG and ML 63 AMG. Mercedes-Benz India’s strong focus on its four pillars of Products, Network, Cost of Ownership and Brand experiences has led the company’s growth story with a total of 64 outlets located in 36 Indian cities, making brand with the densest network in the luxury segment.

The year 2014 is Mercedes-Benz India’s ‘Year of Excellence’ across the brand, product and services spectrum. Mercedes-Benz started the year 2014 on a high note amidst challenging market dynamics registering a 27% growth in Q1, 2014 and also grew by 47% in FY2013-14 selling 9500+ cars in India. In line with The Year of Excellence’ Mercedes-Benz launched its flagship model the new S-Class in January 2014 in India and followed with the launch of S500 CKD and the S 350 CDI in March 2014 and June 2014 respectively. Mercedes-Benz India celebrated 50000th car roll out with C-Class GRAND EDITION. At the 12th Auto Expo, Mercedes-Benz launched the M-Guard- special protection SUV for the Indian market and also showcased the CLA 45 AMG and the much awaited GLA-Class. The company also launched GL 63 AMG and the ML 63 AMG to present the most powerful SUVs in its segment. Mercedes-AMG also inaugurated three AMG Performance Centers (APC) in Delhi, Bangalore, and Mumbai making it the fastest roll-out of APC’s ever. AMG is also synonymous with race track owing to its superlative performance and next generation research and development. The performance aspect of AMG brand is highlighted at its best on the Formula 1 track. The MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS F1 team is already making its strong presence felt by achieving six consecutive one-two finishes in the opening eight races of the 2014 season and also leads strongly both in the constructors and drivers’ standings.

Mercedes-Benz India also emerged as the most awarded luxury automotive brands in 2013, receiving as many as 17 coveted awards from various prestigious automotive media introducing exciting products for the Indian customers. As part of its qualitative network expansion strategy, Mercedes-Benz has already inaugurated 4 new outlets in 2014 at Bhubaneshwar, Raipur, Bhopal and Mohali.