The Mercedes A-Class is a car to watch out for from the German company's Indian subsidiary in 2014. The Stuttgart star is not the brightest in the night sky that's turned very starry. Volume models from rivals such as the Q3 and X1 are proving to be quite a handful for Mercedes.
For Mercedes India, there hasn't been a model in the international lineup until recently that can crack this problem.
Three future compact cars which will help it improve its market position by bringing in much needed volumes are the B-Class (coming before Diwali 2012), an A-Class-based sedan (arriving next year) and finally the A-Class itself sometime in 2014. Let's also not forget the baby crossover built over the same platform, but there are currently no signs of it, hinting it could take until 2014 or so for them to begin serving it.
Mercedes has just unleashed the A-Class on the European markets at a starting price of €23,978.50 (16.7 lakh rupees). For this money, you get the fuel-efficient BlueEfficiency variant (which is a petrol) displacing 1.6 liters, good for 121 hp. The European prices do not give away the price or positioning for the Indian market, but one can imagine Mercedes exploring the 15-20 lakh rupee price band for the range-starting A-Class.
There are three diesel options - two A180 CDI variants and a range-topping A200 CDI. The entry-level diesel variant is powered by a 1461 cc (Renault K9K engine) that is paired to a 6-speed manual gearbox. The second and third variant use a 1,796cc engine producing 109hp and 136hp, paired to a 7-speed dual clutch transmission and a 6-speed manual transmission respectively.
