Mercedes Ships Over 200,000 A-Class Models

Posted by www.eMercedesBenz.com on October 6, 2005 at 5:39 PM CST

It's been one year since Mercedes officially launched the A-Class,  
and already more than 200,000 have been shipped to customers around  
the world (but not the United States).  Sales of the A-Class are  
particularly strong in Germany, where 105,000 units of the compact  
Mercedes were sold.

Not surprisingly, the most popular engine choice among consumers of  
the A-Class was the diesel CDI model, which more than a third of  
consumers chose. Other popular options included the leather wrapped  
steering wheel, continuously variable automatic transmission, and the  
light and vision package.

Mercedes expects the strong sales momentum of the A-Class to  
continue, due to the recent release of the A 200 Turbo. The Turbo  
version, which is designed to appeal to sporty drivers, features a  
193 horsepower power plant and is capable of producing 0-60 times of  
7.5 seconds.  Before you get your hopes up, you should know the A 200  
Turbo isn't available in the U.S. either.

Why Mercedes, why do you tease us?  We're sporty too dammit, and we  
should get to drive an A-Class Turbo like the rest of the sporty world.

You can check out the full press releaseand Pictures at     
www.eMercedesBenz.com


OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE


Mercedes-Benz Posts A Major Success: More Than 200,000 A-Class  
Vehicles Sold In 12 Months

Stuttgart, 10/06/2005

One year after the September 2004 market launch of the second- 
generation A-Class, Mercedes-Benz is able to post excellent sales  
results: More than 200,000 vehicles have been delivered to customers  
during this period. The A Class, which for the first time is  
available as a three-door and five-door version, is selling  
particularly well in Germany, where about 105,000 customers purchased  
the highly variable compact vehicle last year. Despite intensifying  
competition, Mercedes-Benz thus clearly remained the number one  
manufacturer of premium compact cars. Sales of the A-Class were also  
at an all time high in other key European markets and in Japan.

The most popular engine for the A-Class is the A 180 CDI, which was  
chosen by more than a third of all customers. Following in second  
place is the A 150 basic model, with a customer share of 25 percent.  
The optional features that are most in demand for the A-Class are the  
leather-wrapped steering wheel, the light and vision package and the  
continuously variable automatic transmission. The most popular colors  
are the metallic paints “Polar Silver”, “Cosmos Black” and “Comet Gray.”

With innovations such as the sandwich concept — which remains unique  
to the present day — the A-Class has set standards that are important  
far beyond the compact segment. In addition to offering a very high  
level of safety (the car received the best Euro-NCAP test result of  
five stars), the A-Class appeals to buyers through its exemplary use  
of space and its high degree of variability: The car’s cargo area can  
be lengthened to 2.75 meters and its volume increased to 1,995 liters.

And the newly launched flagship model A 200 Turbo for sporty drivers  
is expected to generate additional momentum. With 193 hp and  
acceleration from zero to 100km/h in just 7.5 seconds, the A 200  
Turbo is sure to provide plenty of driving enjoyment.

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