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 successful 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.
Preparations for the startup of the new A-Class are in full swing. Due to the model changeover of the compact cars, production has already been reorganized in large parts. Nevertheless, 97,808 vehicles of the current generation were delivered to customers worldwide last year. In the year before Mercedes-Benz sold 112,586 units of the A-Class. The cars were most popular in the European market, especially in the home market, 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 A-Class 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.
The new compact cars from Mercedes-Benz include, apart from the A- and B-Class, three other sporty, emotional variants, among them a coupé and an SUV. All of the five new compact models are produced in a production network by the Rastatt plant and the new plant in Kecskemét, Hungary. From 2013 on, step by step three of the new models will also be manufactured in China.
Credits: Daimler AG
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