Benefit for the environment and customers: In almost all vehicle classes, Mercedes-Benz offers the most efficient vehicle in the competitive lineup. Moreover, in 2013 the company was able to reduce the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions[1] of the Mercedes-Benz Cars EU new vehicle fleet by a further six grams, to 134 g CO2/km. This means that in 2013, the average fleet consumption was 5.4 litres/100 km-a reduction by 24.7 percent since 2007.
At present the company offers more than 50 models emitting less than 120 g CO2/km and 71 models emitting less than 130 g CO2/km. Customers can find vehicles in the Mercedes-Benz model range that consume considerably less fuel than competing models.
"With our model initiative we want to be the leading premium manufacturer by 2020 again, says Prof. Thomas Weber, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible for Group Research and Development Mercedes-Benz Cars. "Thanks to our technology initiative, we have already achieved it in terms of efficiency: in almost all segments, we offer our customers vehicles with best-in-class emissions."
Top politicians in Germany are also increasingly becoming the most fuel economy conscious customers. In a survey by the German environmental organisation Umwelthilfe[2], which was conducted for the eighth time and published on 24 March, 228 top politicians provided information about the CO2 emissions, fuel consumption and engine power of their official cars. It was Mercedes-Benz that supplied the most environmentally friendly cars, both at federal minister level and state president level. For the very first time a state president (Winfried Kretschmann, Baden-Wurttemberg) was awarded the "green card" by 'Umwelthilfe'. He drives a Mercedes Benz S 300 BlueTEC HYBRID with CO2 emissions of 115 g CO2/km.
Further examples of efficiency champions from Mercedes-Benz in the individual vehicle classes: The B 180 CDI BlueEfficiency Edition consumes 3.8 l/100 km (98 g CO2/km), the GLA 200 CDI 4.3 l/100 km (114 g/km). The new C-Class is also the clear leader in its segment: As the C 220 BlueTEC consuming 4.0 l/100 km (103 g/km), it is well ahead of its competitors, who moreover have less powerful engines. And there are more C-Class models to come: The C 180 BlueTEC and the C 200 BlueTEC consume only 99 grams of CO2 emissions (preliminary figures). The E-Class in the form of the E 300 BlueTEC HYBRID (4.1 l/100 km; 107 g/km) is not only the world's most economical executive class car, for amongst the diesel models the E 220 BlueTEC BlueEFFICIENCY Edition consuming 4.4 l/100 km (114 g CO2) also marks the absolute pinnacle.
Every year Daimler invests approx. six billion euros in research and development for its passenger cars ¨C around half of this in green technologies. The objective is to reduce fuel consumption even further across the entire model range. Hybrid models such as the E 300 BlueTEC HYBRID (107 g CO2) and the S 300 BlueTEC HYBRID (115 g CO2) occupy the top position in their segments. What is more, other shining examples in the current model initiative are ready for the off: The coming C 300 BlueTEC HYBRID consumes just 3.6 litres of diesel fuel per 100 km (94 g CO2/km). While the S 500 PLUG-IN HYBRID with 69 g of CO2 per kilometre (3.0 litres of petrol/100 km) and 30 km of locally emission-free driving achieves a new top figure for luxury saloons.
For customers wishing to dispense completely with the internal combustion engine, the company offers a choice of locally emission-free electric cars with a battery or fuel cell drive. With eight models, Daimler already has the largest portfolio of electric vehicles in the industry -from passenger cars and vans to buses and light trucks. These include the smart fortwo electric drive (incl. the BRABUS variant), the Mercedes-Benz A-Class E-CELL, the B-Class F-CELL, the SLS AMG Coupe Electric Drive, the Vito E-CELL, the Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid, the Fuso Canter E-CELL and the Freightliner Custom Chassis MT E-CELL All-Electric. More electric vehicles are due to be launched shortly, for example the B-Class Electric Drive later this year.