Hardly two weeks back Mercedes Benz launched the open-top SLK Class in India and today they had a more significant model to show. The facelifted version of the C-Class, Mercedes refers to a clear-cut leader in the entry luxury car segment sells about 25% more than its closest competitor and 45% more than the third best.
You can view the brochure and read more about the features in our C-Class facelift launch post.
The new C-Class is priced at 29.79 lakh (C200 CGI) and 32.30 lakh (C250 CDI diesel) ex-showroom, New Delhi.
The new car is being targeted at the ‘young, tech-savvy and classy’ kind of customer and with the competition breathing down their neck with new and updated products, Mercedes Benz hopes the facelift will keep the rest from outdoing them.
In terms of numbers, the new C-Class incorporates about 2,000 changes over the previous car. We have already posted the new features in an earlier update if you are looking for all the details. It was also mentioned that although the total sales of Mercedes Benz India comprise of 65% Diesel cars and 35% petrol cars the C-Class split stands at 45% for petrol and 55% for diesel cars.
The new C-Class has been launched in Avantgarde trim only after studying the recent sales patten. It is a top-down strategy with more variants to come in the next few months.
click past the break to read the press release
Mercedes Benz India launched two variants of the C-Class facelift today at the price of 29.79 lakh (C200 CGI petrol) and 32.30 lakh (C250 CDI diesel) ex-showroom, New Delhi. These prices are marginally lower than the previous C-Class range.
The first images of the C-Class facelift hit the internet late last year and the international unveiling took place in USA in January this year. IndianAutosBlog.com readers have been informed of all developments on the C-Class launch including spy shots and tentative launch dates.
Mercdes Benz C200 BlueEfficiency Avantgarde features
- Panaromic sunroof
- Attention assist
- Parking guidance
- Intelligent headlight
- LED daytime running lights
- Agility control Package
- Selective damping system
- Pre Safe and Neck Pro safety features
- Adaptive brakes with ABS and ASR
- Brake drying function
- Hill climb assist
- 7 speed Automatic transmission
click through for specifications and brochure
Mercedes Benz India has just informed IndianAutosBlog.com that its new C-Class will be launched on the 1st of September in a New Delhi event. The launch was expected to happen in the first half of September and Mercedes is ahead of time on this one.
The C-Class facelift has a refurbished rival list to race with. The Audi A4 facelift has been caught testing in Europe and BMW is ready with the next generation 3 Series that bows in during the Frankfurt Motor Show, days after its India unveiling.
Mercedes Benz does not have the kind of volume models BMW or Audi has. Audi’s next major launch will be the Q3 which we expect to premiere at the Auto Expo in New Delhi during January. BMW’s next generation 3 Series is rumored to be a step ahead of the other two German sedans and will be interesting to see if it captures a lion’s share of the 30-40 lakh rupee sedan pie.
Existing powertrains on the C-Class are likely to be carried over and the marketing material will talk about the reworked front fascia and interiors.
Stay tuned as IAB gets you more details in the build up to the launch.
An IndianAutosBlog.com reader has passed on pictures of the C-Class facelift sitting in a yard somewhere in India. The location of these pictures are not clear, but this is undoubtedly the new C-Class which we expect in September-October period. The variant spied is the C200 Avantgarde with all the bells and whistles.
The C-Class is Mercedes’ best selling model. In the period of January-June 2011, the C-Class became the company’s flagship car by registering a 88% growth by reaching 1,746 customers compared to 928 units last year.
About 2,000 new components have been changed on the new C-Class compared to the outgoing car. The front-end has been completely revised with a new peeled back headlamps and a light-weight aluminium hood is installed. The rear bumper and one-piece jewel case type tail light are new.
click Continue for more spy pics
Sources close to Mercedes Benz India have told IAB that the Stuttgart star is looking at Q3 2011 (July, August, September) to put the new C-Class on the market. The RHD version took Mercedes about six months to develop and the product is almost ready for launch.
Existing BlueEfficiency petrol and diesel engines (1.8- and 2.2-liter producing 170-204 hp) will be carried over as updating happened just last year. The facelifted C-Class has to ward of the enemies until the all-new C-Class is ready in 2013. Mercedes haven’t tried to outdo the outgoing car in every aspect. Instead they’ve chosen to focus on improving certain areas of the car like the interiors for example which will feature improved materials, tighter fit and smoother finish.
click through to read more
If one German does something new, of course the rivals are going to follow suit. Recently we brought the all new BMW 3 Series and walla! Mercedes strikes with the 2012 Class.
If you have a look at the pic above, you can easily notice that this is just a modest facelift. One can easily make out the detailing of the outgoing car. A few touches from the elder sister –The E class, have also been borrowed near the head lamps. The designer hasn’t really bothered with the rear of the car.
Where major changes have taken place is under the hood. Mercedes has introduced a 4 cylinder; direct-injected 1.8-liter turbocharged engine that produces 201 horsepower. The top model gets a 3.5-liter V6 with 302 hp. There are 3 diesel engines as well with power ranging from 136 hp to 204 hp. Mercedes say that the new engines provide 15% better fuel economy.
click through to read more
The Mercedes Benz C Class has successfully touched the 1 Million sales mark ever since it went on sale in its current avatar back in 2007. Over 840,000 sedan variants & 160,000 wagon variants of the car have left showrooms across the world in the last three years.
Mercedes Benz introduced a stripped down variant of the car for fleet customers in India a couple of months back. Hopefully this variant will be made available for the general customer in order to further enhance the appeal of the C Class. The C-Class was introduced with Mercedes’ CGI technology recently which offers better fuel economy and lessens environmental impact.
The C Class is the company’s best selling model ever since it was introduced in 1982 & nearly 8 million of these have been sold.
Executive vice president sales and marketing for Mercedes-Benz Cars, Dr. Joachim Schmidt -
We are therefore especially pleased that the vehicle is so popular with our customers. In June the sedan was the best-selling vehicle in its comparative class worldwide. Despite last year’s weak market environment, sales of the sedan are currently four percent higher than those of the predecessor model during the same period since its market launch. The estate has also met with an outstanding response, with deliveries increasing by 20 percent in June.
The sedan variants’ best market was USA followed by Germany & China. In India too the C Class has been a success for the company with the car constantly outselling the BMW 3 Series & the Audi A4.
This tuning package is for someone who believes a paper tiger is the competition clincher. Someone who doesn’t live his life in the real world. Someone who assumes more power is more speed and more fun than anything else. Someone who’d agree that a racetrack had to do away with corners and bends all together.
Carlsson Autotechnik introduces the CK63S based on the Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG. Let’s jump straight to the core argument of this tuning program
Could possibly be the worst Mercedes Benz to drive?
Motoring journalists across the world agree C 63 AMG is not made for corners. Jeremy Clarkson drove the C63 AMG on Top Gear and gave this Mercedes Benz a poor rating. It was overpowered and struggled to get all of it down on the road.
Carlsson unfortunately makes it worse by increasing the 6.3-liter V8 engine’s power by 108 hp to 565 hp. The maximum torque has been bumped to 685 Nm from the standard 600 Nm.
But how the Carlsson CK63S goes from zero to 60mph in 3.8 seconds, almost a second faster than the stock car is perplexing.
