Archive for the ‘Mercedes’ Category
Thursday, August 26th, 2010 |
Mercedes-Benz has introduced its new-generation direct injection (CGI) petrol technology in the E Class. The turbo-charged direct-injection petrol motor that displaces 1796cc will be the second Mercedes variant to be powered by a CGI motor in India, first being the C200 CGI. With the E200 CGI BlueEFFICIENCY, the E-Class range offers the widest variety as compared to any product in its segment with eight products. The CGI technology combined with BlueEFFICIENCY measures ensures improved efficiency, performance as well as environmental compatibility.
Unlike other direct injection petrol engines, however, this one has a vital advantage; it can run a genuine lean burn cycle. What this means is that when the motor is not under heavy load, it needs very little fuel to run. The mixture of fuel and air in the cylinder, normally 14 parts of air to one part of fuel, is reduced to a much lower ratio. As a result, the motor runs more efficiently. Its Piezo injectors can manage multiple injections, just like a modern common-rail diesel. The 1796cc in-line 4-cylinder petrol motor produces a healthy 183bhp @ 5600rpm and 29.08kgm of torque at 2400-4000rpm. Available in the Elegance trim, the E200 CGI BlueEFFICIENCY comes with a price tag of Rs 39.5lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).
[Via: AutoCarIndia]
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Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 |
Mercedes-Benz has announced the launch of the E-Class Cabriolet in India. The E-Class line up is complete with a retractable soft top roof and offers comfortable seating for four people. The E-Class Cabriolet adds to this multi-faceted E-Class line-up making a lifestyle statement par excellence promising an engaging driving experience with the top on or off. Thanks to its classic soft top, the four-seater convertible delivers that unadulterated cabriolet feeling. AIRCAP® is an automatic wind deflector that can be deployed at the touch of a button to significantly reduce turbulence in the vehicle’s interior. It also dispenses with the assembly required for conventional wind deflectors and leaves the side profile of the Cabriolet undisturbed. The E-Class Cabriolet is priced at Rs. 64.5 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi).
“The E-Class Cabriolet heralds a new era of Open top motoring. With its launch, the versatility of the E-Class range is further reinforced; the E-Class now offers the Cabriolet in addition to already present the E-Class Saloon and the E-Class Coupe. The E-Class has seven offerings for the discerning customers who seek individuality, expression and dynamism through the cars they drive” commented Dr. Wilfried Aulbur, Managing Director, Mercedes-Benz India said.
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Friday, August 6th, 2010 |
Mercedes has unveiled the face of its next generation of cars with this New CLS . Due to make its full public debut at the Paris motor show at the end of next month, the new CLS will go on sale in next March. It replaces the car that’s credited with creating the ‘four-door coupé’ segment of the market, and spawning models like the Audi A7 and the Volkswagen Passat CC. Mercedes sold more than 170,000 examples of the original car, which was launched in 2004. The new CLS has been styled under the guidance of new Mercedes design chief Gorden Wagener. It sits on a modified version of the current E-class floorpan, with wider tracks to help give it a more aggressive stance. Mercedes has not released official dimensions, but the car is wider and longer than the outgoing model, and wider but lower than the E-class saloon.
The most dominant styling feature is a new front-end treatment that will be phased in across Mercedes’ range over the next few years. Described by Merc insiders as a “soft nose”, it features a gaping grille that’s similar to the item already introduced on the SLS. Mercedes says the grille treatment – which sits separate from the engine cover – helps to make the bonnet look longer. At either side of the grille, the CLS will be offered with optional headlight units made up entirely from LEDs. Each set-up contains 71 LEDs, which work on dipped and main beam, sidelights and indicators. The CLS’s flanks feature the same rear wheel arch bulge as the current E-class. The single, uninterrupted crease that ran from nose to tail on the old car is replaced by a line that falls from above the front wheel arch to the middle of the rear door.
Mercedes is said to have used the new car’s longer wheelbase to improve access to the rear cabin, a bugbear of the original CLS. But once inside, the new car remains true to the original’s principle of being a strict four-seater. The dashboard is an evolution of the current E-class design, with more flashes of chrome around the main dials and metal-finish buttons, and an analogue clock mounted in the centre of the fascia. Five interior colours, five trim designs and three grades of leather will be offered. Mercedes won’t confirm the engine line-up until the official launch in Paris. But expect the firm’s new range of V6 and V8 petrol powerplants, called Move, to feature strongly.
The six-pot gets revised direct injection, a narrow-angle block and stop-start tech, improving fuel economy over the old V6 by as much as 24 per cent. A 4.7-litre V8 replaces the outgoing 5.4-litre unit by adding twin turbochargers. It has almost a third more torque, and 12 per cent more power, as well as improved fuel economy and CO2 emissions. The diesel options will be Mercedes’ latest 3.0-litre common-rail V6 engine, with 231bhp, and the CLS250 CDI, equipped with a 2.1-litre, twin-turbocharged four-cylinder unit. All of the engines will be mated to Mercedes’ seven-speed automatic gearbox. The new CLS range is also set to feature an estate variant alongside the regular four-door car. Mercedes chose to preview the new model with the Shooting Break concept in Beijing earlier this year – and that show car is likely to make it into production by the end of next year.
Autocar understands that the CLS wagon already has an internal name: X218. An insider told us, “We don’t traditionally provide cars with codenames until they have been granted an official production go-ahead.” The Shooting Break is just shy of five metres long – slightly longer than the E-class estate but almost 10cm lower. That reduction in height, and the steeply raked rear window, would mean a significant reduction in cargo capacity from the E-class’s cavernous 1950 litres.
[Via: AutocarIndia ]
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Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010 |
Mercedes Benz India had entered the Indian market 15 years ago and had been the market leader ever since then. BMW had challenged its position in 2009 but the company has been able to regain its status quo in the Indian market once again. Now the recent press release from Mercedes states that the company has posted highest ever month sales in its 15-year history in India. The German car manufacturer sold 521 units in July 2010 recording 80 percent jump in its sales over July 2009 sales. It sold 62 units of its SUV GL and M-class in July 2010 alone as compared to total 140 units sold in whole 2009.
“Our SUVs impressed one and all during our 5 city ‘StarDrive Experience’. The demand for the GL and M-Class reflects the confidence and pride of ownership associated with our SUVs,” said Dr. Wilfried Aulbur (Managing Director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India). For the period Jan-July 2010, the company has sold 2,922 units, up from 1,670 units sold during the corresponding period the previous year. Aulbur also added that the July 2010 has been the best month in the history of the company so far and Jan-Jul 2010 had been months of robust sales.
[Via: cartradeindia]
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Thursday, July 1st, 2010 |
Mercedes Benz India has made its entry into the pre-owned car business with its ‘Proven Exclusivity’ used car programme. Initiated globally in 2009, the programme is successfully operating in 35 countries, allowing Mercedes to offer products at affordable prices. Through the pre-owned car programme, customers can now buy a Mercedes Benz from a price range of Rs 15-18lakh as against Rs 31-34lakh for a new entry-level C-class model. Another feature of the ‘Proven Exclusivity’ programme is that Mercedes will only offer cars that are not more than six years old.
At present, the pre-owned cars will be put on sale through six authorised Mercedes-Benz dealerships across four cities; Mumbai, Delhi, Chandigarh and Ahmedabad. By the end of 2010, additional eight outlets will be added where the customers can buy the pre-owned cars and also avail support in areas such as financing, documentation and delivery. Mercedes-Benz India expects the pre-owned car business to account for 10-15 percent of its total car sales by 2011.
[Via: AutoCarIndia]
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Friday, May 14th, 2010 |
Mercedes India has launched the C200 CGI in India priced at Rs. 28.44 lakhs (ex-showroom, Mumbai). The new CGI engine replaces the previous 4-in-line KOMPRESSOR technology with the world’s first spray guided direct petrol injection.
The main difference between the C200K and the C200 CGI is the use of turbocharging in the latter (the former used supercharging). The C200 CGI BlueEFFICIENCY now features lower fuel consumption along with more power (186hp at 5600 rpm) and increased bottom-end torque (285 Nm at 2400-4000 rpm).The C-Class powered by the CGI gasoline technology will be the entry level Mercedes in India.
[Via: Motorbeam]
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Thursday, May 13th, 2010 |
According to a report by leading auto magazine Autocar India, Mercedes Benz India has launched a stripped down version of its E-class saloon, the E250 CDI Classic . The launch comes on the heels of the company unveiling its Executive Edition – another stripped down version – of the C-class a fortnight ago. The E-250 CDI Classic will retail at Rs 46.18 lakh, on-road Mumbai. Since the Classic is slated to be the base diesel, a lot of features are given a miss. Unlike the higher trim variant, the Classic has no sliding sunroof, bi-Xenon headlamps, LED driving lamps and daytime running headlamps.
On the inside, the Classic gets Eucalyptus wood trim, grey colour interiors and traditional gear lever instead of gear selector stalk for its 5-speed auto ‘box. Like the Elegance, paddle shifters are also missing. It continues to be powered by a four-in line, 2143cc engine churning out 201bhp and 51kgm of torque. The tyres are 16 inch and come with a more somber looking 9 spoke alloy wheels. These are small concessions to make as the Classic is 2.33lakh cheaper than the E250 CDI Elegance, making it a better value for money proposition.
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Friday, May 7th, 2010 |
Mercedes-Benz India plans to launch its new-generation petrol motor with the C200 CGi in the coming week. The turbo-charged direct-injection petrol motor that displaces 1796cc will be the first of Mercedes’ compressed gasoline injection (CGI) motors to be sold in India. Introduction of CGI will now mean an increase in power to 183bhp as well as improved efficiency. Like other direct-injection motors from Audi and Skoda, low engine speed torque is significantly improved on this motor, delivering better acceleration. But Merc’s system has one massive advantage.
Its Piezo injectors can manage multiple injections, just like a diesel. So when the motor is not under load, it burns very little fuel in a massive amount of air in a non-homogeneous mixture, sometimes known as ‘Lean Burn’. And the C-class can do this running at even 120kph! The result: upto 10 percent lower petrol consumption.
The C200 will only be available in the Avantgarde variant trim. Price is expected to be Rs 34.57 lakh (on-road, Mumbai).
[Via: AutocarIndia]
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Wednesday, May 5th, 2010 |
The power of 115 individuals from Aurangabad coming together has resulted in Mercedes taking 115 bookings of various cars from its portfolio and the buyers getting massive discounts. The cars will be delivered through BU Bhandari Mercedes-Benz dealer in Pune by Diwali. Of the 115 cars, there were 60 E-Class, 23 C-Class, 11 S-Class, 15 ML-Class and 6 GL-Class booked. The rates outside brackets are the discounted rates, whereas the ones in bracket are original (all prices, ex-showroom) – C-250 26.5 (32), E350 Avantgarde 42 (48), E250 Elegance 37 (41), E250 34 (39), S350 71 (81), GL350 64 (70), ML350 45 (58). All cars are CDI variants and have 3 years of service free (upto 60,000 kms). This otherwise costs Rs. 2 lakh which is not included above. The registration has to be in Aurangabad or nearby cities only.
“I am sure by now the whole country knows about the Mercedes deal. We were about 7 friends (core group) who were involved in the whole process. As head of the Lokmat Media, I have been careful that all the news that were covered in Lokmat, didn’t give names of any individual as we wanted all the buyers to feel a part of the total deal. A team of 7 people ( only 2 from the core group) met the senior officials of the Mercedes company and negotiated with them. Since Mercedes has very strict norms and rules regarding their jurisdiction, the deal was routed through the Pune dealer (BU Bhandari). During the meeting we insisted that the purpose of coming together is not just to get discounts but it is for a bigger purpose. We are sure that this will make news across the country and hopefully the world. This would help change perception of the city. That in turn should bring in more investments and industries. None of us have been to Ludhiana but when you hear that Ludhiana has tons of Mercs you believe that the place has lot of potential. While making project reports people keep these smaller things into consideration that show the buying capacity of that town.
Once the discounts were known the company gave us 5 days to get 100 customers. I am damn sure that the Mercedes India must have thought we won’t even cross 50. From 5th April to 10th April everyone who was part of the deal worked like salesmen to strike the deal with cross section of people. Another group of people is dealing with banks for financing. Again these are completely different set of people. Since more and more people joined in the decision process that also helped increase our reach. Everyone was enthused about the deal and called their friends and relatives and convinced them to buy a Mercedes. You will be amazed to know that when we made phone calls to the prospective buyers we did not have any quote or invoice from the company to show the interested buyers. All these guys had to believe in us that we are doing fair business and there are no hidden costs/commissions involved.
Whether all these people would have come together for any other brand of car – we would never know. We didnt go to any other car manufacturer. So there was really no arm twisting with Mercedes – ‘ If you dont give us enough discount we would move to BMW/Audi‘. Earlier we have come together and organized a trip to Shirdi where everyone walked from Aurangabad to Shirdi. Again that was a first. All of us would sleep in the tents at night and start early morning. There were two people who really worked hard and were the main pillars – Sachin Nagori and Rahul Mishrikotkar. I am thankful to TOI for carrying Rahul Dhoot and my name but it would be unfair to others. I am not sure about the source of TOI but if I had to give two names then it would have been the ones mentioned above. Hope this answers all your questions. For me – NO I didn’t buy a car in the deal.”
[Via: Motorbeam]
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Sunday, May 2nd, 2010 |
Mercedes Benz India today announced a sale of 321 units in April 2010 taking the cumulative sales for January- April 2010 to 1603 units. This marks a growth of 80% as compared to April 2009 and 69% as compared to Jan- April 2009. In Jan-April 2010 the New E-Class (powered by 4 engines E350, E 350CDI BlueEFFICIENCY, E250, E250CDI BlueEFFICIENCY) continued to lead the segment and registered 139% growth, while the C-Class reinforced its popularity registering a growth of 32% over Jan-Apr 2009. The SUV’s from the Mercedes stable has received an overwhelming response. In Jan-April 2010 the company sold a total of 92 units of GL-Class and M-Class. In contast there were 55 units sold during the same period in 2009.
Dr. Wilfried Aulbur, Managing Director and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India commented: “Our intensive customer engagements, aggressive product introductions coupled with deep network penetration and focus on customer delight have ensured that we are the preferred choice for luxury car aficionados. Our sales numbers reflect our traction with the market.”
Mercedes-Benz started the year with the presentation of the SLS AMG at the Auto Expo 2010. In the past four months the company continued its aggressive product launch plans with12 new products introduced since January 2010. The Mercedes lifestyle quotient was further enhanced with the 10th edition of the Mercedes-Trophy (15 cities, 1800+ participants) and Mercedes’ association with Manish Arora ensured exciting fashion evenings with his unique couture “Fascination Collection” inspired by Mercedes. The recently introduced “StarDrive Experience” across 4 major cities combines driving experience with simulation of critical road situations while the multi-city “Fascination Showcase” provide an exposure of the entire range of Mercedes-Benz cars for customers and prospects across tier II & III cities in India. With an investment of over 200 crores in network, Mercedes-Benz is now present in 26 cities with 55 touch points, the largest for any luxury player in India.
[Via: ICB]
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