More than a million Mercedes A-Class models delivered

MERCEDES-BENZ has handed over more than a million A-Class models of the current generation to customers worldwide since the market launch in autumn 2004.

Dr. Joachim Schmidt of Mercedes- Benz says: “With the A-Class, 15 years ago Mercedes- Benz established the premium compact car segment. We already sold over a million vehicles of the second generation and with the new A-Class we will again set new standards in the segment.”

At the Geneva Motor Show in March Mercedes-Benz will show the entirely redesigned A-Class for the first time. The market launch will be later this year.

Dr. Schmidt also said: “The new A-Class is the pulse of a new generation of sporty-emotional vehicles with which we seek to open up our brand increasingly to younger customer groups, and develop further market regions. This new model is an essential component of our product offensive in the compact car segment, which we launched with the introduction of the new B-Class very successfully last year.”

The first model of the new premium compact cars, the new Mercedes-Benz B-Class, has been delivered since mid- November 2011. It has been received outstandingly well by customers and clearly exceeds the expectations.

The A-Class has been most popular in the European market, especially in Germany, where almost half of all A-Class models were sold. The second biggest market is Italy, followed by France and the U.K. The AClass was introduced at the end of 2010 in China with great success. In 2011, the first year of full availability, Mercedes-Benz delivered 5 100 units to customers there.

Throughout the years the Mercedes engineers have developed numerous innovations specifically for the compact models. The A-Class thus quickly gained a reputation for being a trendsetter and innovation leader. For instance, it was the world’s first compact car to get an internationally valid environmental certificate in 2007.

Words and image: quickpic.co.za