Showing posts with label W 169. Show all posts

Mercedes-Benz plant in Rastatt: Farewell to the last A-Class of the second generation

By | Published Saturday, 21 April 2012

Since the production started back in 2004, more than one million vehicles of the current A-Class model generation (W 169/BR 169) have come out the assembly line at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Rastatt. The final car of this series, an A 180 CDI in polar silver, has recently left the factory. The vehicle will arrive at a customer in France. "We are very proud of the success story of the A-Class we will continue to write with the next series. Preparations for the start of the new A-Class are already in full swing.", said Peter Wesp, head of the Mercedes-Benz plant in Rastatt.

The new A-Class

In March this year the new A-class celebrated the world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show. Up to 18 inches lower than the previous model, the new generation displays a sporty, confident character. As the world's first automobile manufacturer, Mercedes-Benz has completely integrated digital and phone communication and functionality in the telematics concept of the W 176 generation. The new petrol and diesel engines are now more fuel efficient and meet any power requirements. They can be combined with the new six-speed manual gearbox or with the optional automatic transmission with double clutch transmission 7G-DCT. The new A-Class is the first car in its segment to feature a standard radar-based collision warning system with ADAPTIVE BRAKE ASSIST, which decreases the chances of a collision. The first units will be delivered to clients beginning with September 2012.

About the Mercedes-Benz plant in Rastatt

The Rastatt plant was officially inaugurated in 1992, with the E-Class being the first model to be assembled there until 1996. From 1997 onwards, the facility was established as a production site for the new A-Class. Prior to 2004, when the second generation came into force, around 1.1 million compact Mercedes-Benz premium models were sold to clients all over the world. Moreover, the current A-Class series appealed to more than one million customers and, in addition, beginning with 2005, the B-Class was also introduced in the production portfolio of the Rastatt factory. This niche vehicle, marketed as a compact sports tourer, became instantly popular, with total sales exceeding 700,000 units. Therefore, the Rastatt plant is unanimously recognized as a competence center for the construction of compact cars from Mercedes-Benz.

Starting September 2011, the new B-Class (W 246) was introduced in the range. Currently, preparations are being made at Rastatt to welcome the new A-Class, which is celebrating the world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2012. The new generation of Mercedes-Benz premium compact cars further includes three more sporty, emotional models, including a coupe and an SUV. The five new models will be built in a comprehensive production network comprising the Rastatt plant and the new facility in Kecskemét, Hungary. Three of the five models will be assembled at Rastatt.
Credits: Daimler AG

Copyright © 2012, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.

Posted in , , , , , , | Leave a comment

More than One Million A-Class Models of the Current Generation Delivered to Customers

By | Published Wednesday, 1 February 2012

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, Executive Vice President Mercedes-Benz Cars Sales & Marketing: "With the A-Class, 15 years ago Mercedes-Benz established the premium compact car segment. We already sold over one million vehicles of the second generation and with the new A-Class we will again set new standards in the segment and will fascinate our customers once again." At the Geneva Motor Show in March Mercedes-Benz will show the entirely redesigned A-Class for the first time. 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 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

Copyright © 2012, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.

Posted in , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Swedish Greys - a WordPress theme from Nordic Themepark. Converted by LiteThemes.com.