The recently introduced Mercedes-Benz C-Class and E-Class BlueEFFICIENCY cars are gaining popularity with eco-conscious drivers. This technology from Merc is really quite something.

An elegant efficiency

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CO2 emissions are becoming increasingly topical, as they are one of the contributors to global warming. A total of 17 per cent of global CO2 emissions generated by industrial and combustion processes can be attributed to road transport, and reducing such emissions is therefore one of our most important goals. The key is to lower the fuel consumption and to make our vehicles more efficient and environmentally friendly in general.

Eco C-Class is a hit

"To this end Mercedes-Benz Cars is pleased to report year-to-date sales of the C-Class C180 Kompressor BlueEFFICIENCY model of 3 481 units which amount to 33 per cent of the local C-Class sales," says Eckart Mayer, Divisional Manager at Mercedes-Benz South Africa.  

Total sales for the C-Class model range in October reached 1 010 units, representing a market share of around 43 per cent in the medium luxury segment. The C-Class sedan is built at the Mercedes-Benz (MBSA) East London plant, which has won a prestigious gold award from JD Power and associates in their 2009 US initial quality study. This study placed the MBSA plant fourth best in the world, out-performing all European and American plants.

New E-Class minds its exhaust

The newly introduced E200 CGI BlueEFFICIENCY has already made great inroads in the market. Total E-Class sales amounted to 232 units, of which 69 were E200 CGI BlueEFFICIENCY models. This equates to 30 per cent of total E-Class sales.

"We are pleased to note that our customers are becoming more and more eco-conscious, as can be seen by the success of our BlueEFFICIENCY models, launched this year," concludes Mayer.

Emission control

C180 Kompressor BlueEFFICIENCY (priced from R325 000),
6-speed manual transmission (g/km): 159 – 173
5-speed automatic transmission (g/km): 169 – 183

and for the E200 CGI BlueEFFICIENCY (priced from R471 000)
5-speed automatic transmission (g/km): 177 - 184