Successful Market Launch of the New Mercedes-Benz E-Class Sedan

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Stuttgart, Germany, Mar 31, 2009

* Approximately 50,000 orders received

* High numbers of visitors: 350,000 customers attending the premiere of the model

* E-Class sets new standards for safety, comfort, and economy in the upper-range segment

The new Mercedes-Benz E-Class got off to a great start last weekend. High numbers of visitors were reported by dealerships in Germany, with a total of 350,000 existing and potential customers attending the premiere of the model in the showrooms. At the time of the market introduction, some 50,000 orders had already been placed for the new E-Class sedan. Test drives of the model are also very much in demand, with around 5,000 being made with the E-Class on the weekend of its market introduction and a further 6,000 customers making appointments for test drives over the next few days.


Dr. Klaus Maier, Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing Mercedes-Benz Cars: �We are very delighted that the new E-Class has got off to such a great start and that it has met with such great customer interest. For that the E-Class is of special importance to Mercedes-Benz: it is and will remain the �heart� of the Mercedes-Benz brand and expresses its core values in an exemplary manner. The new E-Class sedan will once again set new standards for safety, comfort, and economy in the upper-range segment.�

Pioneering innovations for ensuring safe driving will either be standard equipment in the new E-Class or available in this vehicle segment for the first time. About a dozen assistance systems will be available to customers, including new developments from Mercedes-Benz such as Lane Keeping Assist, Speed Limit Assist and Night View Assist Plus. The new E-Class sedan has outstanding fuel economy. The four- and six-cylinder engines have direct injection systems and consume up to 23 percent less fuel than their predecessors. The E 250 CDI, for example, is equipped with a 150 kW/204 hp engine with 500 Nm of torque that is 25 percent greater than the previous V6 diesel engine. At the same time, it consumes around 23 percent less fuel � only 5.3 liters per 100 kilometers (NEDC combined cycle), which corresponds to 139 grams of CO2 per kilometer. Mercedes-Benz is further enhancing the high level of long-distance driving comfort typical of the E-Class by fitting the new sedan with a number of new features, including intelligent body-systems with up to 30 percent greater rigidity, improved seats, and an all-new chassis whose shock absorbers automatically adapt to the driving situation.

The new E-Class is the successor to an internationally successful Mercedes-Benz model, the 211 series. Altogether, customers of this model have purchased 1.5 million sedans and station wagons since its launch six years ago. Over the past sixty years, the eight generations of the E-Class sedan have thrilled ten million customers worldwide.

The new E-Class coupe will hit showrooms in Europe on May 9, 2009.

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