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Read more about this great achievement from Mercedes-Benz in the press release document --> HERE !
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Copyright © 2013, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
Showing posts with label first. Show all posts
Showing posts with label first. Show all posts
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Pioneering achievement: Mercedes-Benz S-Class INTELLIGENT DRIVE drives autonomously in the tracks of Bertha Benz
Read more about this great achievement from Mercedes-Benz in the press release document --> HERE !
Copyright © 2013, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
Mercedes-Benz sells more vehicles than ever before in the first half of 2013
“The first half of 2013 went very well for Mercedes-Benz. We continued to grow in many markets and were able to post a new record“, said Dr. Joachim Schmidt, Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing Mercedes-Benz Cars. “We also want to continue to grow in the second half. In particular, the new E-Class, S-Class and our new compact cars will provide perceptible momentum as they become available in increasingly more markets in the coming months.“
Mercedes-Benz performed very well in the volatile market environment of Europe with sales of 327,988 vehicles in the first half of the year (+4.2%). The brand won market shares in many markets in June as well. Since the beginning of the year the company posted particularly strong sales growth in UK (+15.0%), Belgium (+19.6%), Russia (+19.9%) and Turkey (+75.1%). In Germany, Mercedes-Benz delivered 124,324 vehicles to customers
(-3.3%) in the first half, thus developing better than the significantly declining overall market (-8.1%). With a market share of nearly 10% in June, Mercedes-Benz once again defended its position as the most registered premium brand in Germany.
The last six months developed particularly satisfactorily in the USA where, with sales of 141,950 units, Mercedes-Benz was more successful than ever before in its largest sales market (+10.4%). The brand also posted strong increases in Latin America, and grew sales in Brazil by 51.7% and in Argentina by 95.1%.
In the Asia/Pacific region, Mercedes-Benz posted stable growth in the first half (+6.7%), due in particular to sales in Japan (+26.5%) and India (+16.4%). The brand’s sales are also developing very strongly in China (incl. Hong Kong), where Mercedes-Benz posted a double-digit growth in June (+16.0%) and achieved sales of 19,549 vehicles. Since the beginning of the year 98,914 cars have been delivered to customers. Just a few weeks ago, Daimler AG again underlined the importance of the Chinese market and has been strengthening it with a proprietary functional unit for China at central sales.
The new compacts of Mercedes-Benz were in special demand in the first half of 2013 with total deliveries of 173,362 vehicles of the A-Class, B-Class and the CLA coupe (+58.0%).
The new E-Class family is also meeting with enthusiastic response from customers. In June, already 21,910 sedans and estates were delivered to customers (+5.0%). In the beginning of June, the coupe and cabrio also promptly opened the summer season in the European markets. The two variants are among the ‘dream cars’ with the star, a general term used by the brand for its coupe, cabrio and roadster models series. Overall, since the beginning of the year, already 85,000 dream cars were handed over to customers, which corresponds to a market share of around 50% compared to the core competitors.
Mercedes-Benz will celebrate the dealer premiere of its new flagship in Germany in a few weeks: On July 20th the new S-Class will be brought into the showrooms for the first time. Even before market launch, 20,000 orders have already been received. Just recently, the luxury sedan of Mercedes-Benz won two first places in the Automotive Brand Contest 2013, and is thus distinguished as “Best of the Best“ in the categories of Exterior Design and Interior Design.
Sales for the SUVs from the brand with the star again grew significantly in the first half of 2013 to 156,055 units (+21.4%). The GL, which has sold more than 250,000 times since its market launch in 2006, posted a sales record with 35.1% growth in the last six months. The M-Class is the best-selling vehicle of its class with nearly 60,000 customer deliveries since the beginning of the year. The GLK is also becoming increasingly popular with customers (+32.2% since the beginning of the year). Just recently, the compact SUV was ranked first in its class in the J. D. Power IQS Study (Initial Quality Study), in which the market research company measures the delivery quality of new vehicles after a 90-day holding period.
The compact two-seater smart fortwo also won first place in the prestigious J. D. Power Quality Study in the “City Car“ category. The smart fortwo was delivered to customers 51,867 times since the beginning of the year (-6.7%).
Credits: Daimler AG
Copyright © 2013, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
Record success: Best ever first half-year for Mercedes-Benz UK
- Best Q2 results ever – 25,470 cars registered Best market share for June – 4.4 per cent
- Mercedes-Benz UK car registrations out-perform the market, rising 18.5 per cent for June and 14.8 per cent for the year-to-date
- C-Class Coupé, E-Class Coupé, E-Class Saloon, CLS-Class and SL-Class lead their respective market segments
- AMG continues strong performance in 2013 – registrations up 51.1 per cent for the month – remains the fastest-growing performance brand in the UK
- Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles post promising registrations – Citan has best month yet; significant gains made by Actros, Axor and Econic
Record success was spread across the range in June, as a diverse line-up of Mercedes-Benz models led their respective market segments, according to registration figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
New records were set as Mercedes-Benz UK achieved its best ever Q2 results, with 25,470 vehicles registered – leading to a record market share of 4.6 per cent for the year-to-date.
The C-Class Coupé, E-Class Coupé and Saloon, the CLS-Class and SL-Class all saw significant gains in June. Registrations of the SL-Class rose by 196.4 per cent to lead its highly competitive segment with a 36.8 per cent share.
In total, 9,469 cars were registered by Mercedes-Benz in June – contributing to an overall rise of 14.8 per cent for the year-to-date.
The sustained popularity of the B-Class continued, seeing a 41.7 per cent gain in registrations compared to the same time last year. Likewise, the A-Class had its most successful month since being introduced to the UK market in January. A total of 1,459 examples were registered in June, capturing 9.5 per cent of its market segment.
Performance brand, AMG, remained the fastest-growing performance brand in the UK, posting a rise of 51.1 per cent with the E 63 AMG Saloon emerging as one of the key contributors to the gain, achieving a 181.8 per cent rise in registrations. In total, 1,486 cars from AMG have been registered in 2013 – the first time such a figure has been reached so early in the year.
The regular E-Class has had its most successful year yet, with 14,140 examples registered to date, a rise of six per cent.
Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles posted strong results in June. The Citan van had its best month yet with over 200 examples being registered. Further up the scale, the Actros posted a rise of 62.7 per cent, registrations of the Econic rose by 53.1 per cent and the Axor by 127.7 per cent.
Marcus Breitschwerdt, President and CEO Mercedes-Benz UK, commented: ‘Strong individual performances by key models across our passenger car and commercial vehicle operations, such as the Citan van, the new E-Class Saloon and the Actros as well as the continued great gains by AMG gave us a record performance in June and in the second quarter of the year. As we introduce the full range of A-Class models, build up volume on the CLA-Class and we look ahead to the arrival of the new S-Class later in the year, our diversity of products allows us to set new benchmarks and post a significant year-on-year gain and out-perform the market once again.
‘It’s been an exciting and busy first half to the year; since January, the Mercedes-Benz UK website has had over 1.2 million visits every month and, in May alone, nearly 50,000 eBrochure downloads took place – a new record. Our customer satisfaction scores have been very strong among our existing owners while at the same time the majority of those enquiring about the A-Class, introduced in January, have been new to Mercedes-Benz. And it’s not just new cars - used cars have benefited too, with a 51 per cent increase in searches on our online used car locator.
‘You don’t just need to take our word for it either – the A-Class was announced as the Best New Car at the Fleet World Honours – at the same time we were announced as the Most Improved Fleet Manufacturer, an award reflecting the significant growth we’ve seen in our fleet volumes. Along with my colleagues at Mercedes-Benz UK and throughout the Retailer network, I will be working hard to sustain and build on this great momentum as we look forward to a successful second half to the year.’
Credits: Mercedes-Benz UK
Copyright © 2013, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
SWEG takes its first Euro VI buses into service
“Three Lions in Motion” design concept
One of the four Citaros is a design concept based on the visual appearance of some rail vehicles that will be in future service in Baden-Württemberg. True to the slogan “SWEG with Three Lions in Motion”, the striking design of the bus proudly sports the regional colours of Baden-Württemberg both inside and outside: signal yellow and white. Set off with halftone “Staufer lions” at the sides, the exterior of the Citaro design concept reflects the heraldic devices of the regional coat of arms. The interior, too, boasts the colours and devices of the state of Baden-Württemberg. The dark fabrics of the passenger seats are resplendent with the lion emblem, sometimes with a yellow outline, sometimes with a light-grey one. The signal-yellow grab rails form a contrast to the otherwise dark-toned interior.
The Mercedes-Benz Citaro Euro VI
The two-door rigid bus with horizontal engine combines the Euro VI exhaust emissions standard with a multiplicity of unique features.
This Citaro is powered by the new OM 936h rear-mounted six-cylinder in-line engine with 7.7 litre displacement, a power rating of 220 kW (299 hp) and a maximum torque of 1200 Nm. The engine already complies with the Euro VI exhaust emissions standard. Power is transferred by the ZF Ecolife six-speed automatic transmission. The abundant torque from the engine is an ideal match for the standard rear axle ratio of i = 5.77, which is almost 10% longer-legged than in the Citaro with the previous Euro V engine. This reduces the engine speed and therefore also the fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and driving noise.
Fuel economy
The new Citaro’s outstanding fuel economy is assured, among other things, by a recuperation module (24 volts), which allows the regular-service bus to save fuel in that the free electricity generated on overrun is stored and used to operate the vehicle’s electrical accessories. This reduces the load on the drivetrain and lowers fuel consumption.
The energy storage function is performed by “supercaps”, double-layer capacitors, with a power rating of 6 kW and a capacity of 1 Ah. This process alone reduces the Citaro’s fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by more than 2%.
In the Record Run Buses 2012, the Euro VI engine impressively demonstrated its clear superiority in terms of fuel economy over the already highly fuel-efficient Euro V engine. With a fuel saving of 8.5% in a head-to-head with the comparable predecessor model, the Citaro with Euro VI engine exceeded even the promises of the Mercedes-Benz engineers.
SWEG – at the service of the South West
Modern and regional – that, in a nutshell, is how SWEG sees itself. The passenger transport company’s bus and rail services extend from Weil am Rhein and Lörrach in the south of Baden-Württemberg to the area around Bad Mergentheim in the north-east of the state. The modern fleet comprises some 300 of the company’s own buses and 50 leased units. Every year, approximately 30 vehicles are replaced, involving a capital expenditure of around seven million euros. The majority of vehicles comply with the exacting EEV exhaust emissions standard (Enhanced Environmentally Friendly Vehicle).
SWEG carried 61.3 million bus and rail passengers in 2012 together with its ten public transport companies and five subsidiaries. With a staff of 780, the company is an important employer in the region. Its traditionally good image helps SWEG to win broad acceptance among the population.
Credits: Daimler AG
Copyright © 2013, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
DTM Hockenheim 2013 (I): Sunday's Race Report - Christian Vietoris finishes 3rd
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Roberto Merhi (THOMAS SABO Mercedes AMG C-Coupé) began his second season in the world’s most popular touring car series by securing tenth place. For the Spaniard, this is the best result so far of his fledgling DTM career.
Mercedes-Benz juniors Pascal Wehrlein and Daniel Juncadella started their first DTM season with a strong performance, achieving eleventh and twelfth positions respectively. Wehrlein in eleventh place narrowly missed securing points in his debut race. He set two new records on his DTM debut: Today, Wehrlein officially becomes the youngest DTM driver in the history of the series, aged just 18 years and 199 days. In addition, he posted his first DTM kilometres in P1 during the race when he led the field from Lap 9 to 25, making him also the youngest driver ever to lead a race in 28 years of the DTM.
Robert Wickens (STIHL Mercedes AMG C-Coupé) retired after five laps with a technical problem. The Canadian moved up a position at the start to a place on the podium but had to park his car in the Parabolica while lying in fourth position.
Overall standings: Christian Vietoris is in third position and Gary Paffett fourth in the drivers’ standings after the first race. In the team standings, STIHL / AMG Mercedes are in third place with 28 points. In the manufacturers' standings, Mercedes-Benz is second with 28 points.
VIP at Mercedes-Benz: 87,000 spectators attended the first race weekend of the year at Hockenheim, including Formula 1 star Nico Rosberg, who visited the DTM season-opener on Saturday and Sunday as a guest of Mercedes-Benz. As part of the weekend’s programme, the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS driver took the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz DTM racing taxi, enabling guests and fans to experience the magic of the DTM for themselves.
The next race: The second round of the DTM will take place at Brands Hatch (18th-19th May), and will be a home fixture for Gary Paffett. Paffett won last year’s race at the shortest track on the DTM calendar.
Comments after the Race
Christian Vietoris (24, Germany, DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupé):
- Third position
- Pit stops on Laps 6 and 33
- Tyre choice: option/prime/option
„That race was huge fun. The introduction of DRS and option tyres has given us drivers a lot more to do out on track, which makes it all the more interesting. Going into the race, I was optimistic about putting in a good performance. Because of all the different tyre strategies, it was difficult to know what your real position was. I lost some ground early on, but thanks to our excellent pit stops and a faultless drive, I was able to claw my way back and finish on the podium for the first time in my career. I’ll be delighted if the season carries on this way.“
Gary Paffett (32, England, EURONICS Mercedes AMG C-Coupé):
- Fourth position
- Pit stops on Laps 6 and 28
- Tyre choice: prime/option/prime
„That was a tough race, but a P4 finish and my first points of the season are a reasonable outcome. Christian had the better tyres and the better strategy towards the end of the race, so congratulations to him on his first DTM podium. The two different tyre compounds and the use of DRS made for an exciting race. Unfortunately, there were some moves out on track that weren’t totally acceptable. Fourth place is OK, but I know I was capable of a better result today.“
Roberto Merhi (22, Spain, THOMAS SABO Mercedes AMG C-Coupé):
- Tenth position
- Pit stops on Laps 6, 7 and 32
- Tyre choice: prime/option/prime
„Considering that I started the race from 21st position on the grid, then I can be quite satisfied with the end result. I moved up the field a number of places at the start, but there was a problem with the tyres on my pit stop, which is why I had to come in twice in a row and had to stop three times altogether. On my final pit stop, my pit crew did a great job, producing the second fastest stop of the race. Placed tenth, I’ve secured my first championship point in the DTM – I can build on that in the next few races.“
Pascal Wehrlein (18, Germany, DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupé):
- Eleventh position
- Pit stops on Laps 25 and 32
- Tyre choice: option/prime/prime
„I’ll be leaving Hockenheim with mixed feelings. On the one hand, I led the race for several laps on my very first outing, which must count as a big success; on the other hand, I was starting to think that I might get a better result. The first stint of the race went really well on the soft tyres, but when I switched to the harder compound, the car didn’t feel as good as it had before. We now need to analyse the reason for that. Even so, it was a good performance to almost finish in the points on my DTM debut.“
Daniel Juncadella (21, Spain, stern Mercedes AMG C-Coupé):
- Twelfth position
- Pit stops on Laps 26 and 31
- Tyre choice: option/prime/prime
„I’m well satisfied with my DTM debut. The main thing was to see the finish line and so to get as much experience as possible. I’m pleased to say that I managed to do that. The result could have been better, but I drove over a kerb, which didn’t do my car any good. However, mistakes of that kind are all part of the learning process and have to be expected on your first outing. I’m going to work hard on my driving and try to learn the lessons from today in time for Brands Hatch.“
Robert Wickens (24, Canada, STIHL Mercedes AMG C-Coupé):
- retired on lap 6
- Pit stops: none
- Tyre choice: option
„The start went well, but my accelerator pedal suddenly got stuck as I was tackling the hairpin. Luckily, I was able to avoid a collision with Bruno Spengler. But for the problem, we would have been in the points today, for sure, maybe a podium would even have been possible. It’s a pity that it didn’t come off, but the season still has a long way to go. I see no reason why we should not be up with the front-runners again at Brands Hatch. So, I’ll draw a line under this weekend and focus on the next race.“
Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:
„Congratulations to BMW on a strong performance and a well-deserved victory in the season opener. We now need to analyse this first race weekend and learn the lessons for future encounters. At the midway stage, the situation was looking very promising for us, but towards the end, the performance fell away for some of our cars on the hard tyres, which came as a bit of a surprise for us. Our Mercedes Juniors deserve special praise: they were brilliant in the race and have been faultless in every aspect this weekend. Christian put in a great performance to claim his maiden DTM podium, and our rookie Pascal has now had his first experience of leading the race over several laps. Unfortunately, he and Daniel were out of luck on the hard tyres towards the end, but they can travel to Brands Hatch with their heads held high.“
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Credits: Daimler AG
Copyright © 2013, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
DTM Hockenheim 2013 (I): Saturday's Qualifying Report - Vietoris and Wickens on the second row
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Vietoris posted the third-fastest lap in the final shootout: 1:36.194 minutes. His team-mate, Robert Wickens, set a time of 1:36.920 minutes to claim fourth place. Gary Paffett (EURONICS Mercedes AMG C-Coupé / 1:40.496 minutes) narrowly missed out on going through to Q4 on a drying track. The 2012 championship runner-up will be starting from sixth on the grid in tomorrow’s season opener.
The two DTM rookies Pascal Wehrlein (DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupé / 1:41.337 minutes) and Daniel Juncadella (stern Mercedes AMG C-Coupé / 1:43.775 minutes) start their first DTM race from positions eight and ten respectively. Wehrlein even managed to secure the fastest lap time in the second qualifying session. On Sunday, aged 18 years and 199 days, he will become the youngest competitor of all time in the history of the DTM.
Roberto Merhi (THOMAS SABO Mercedes AMG C-Coupé) spun off track in the wet during the first qualifying session, sustaining damage to some of the car’s aerodynamic components. He was able to continue but, placed 20th with a time of 1:50.810 minutes, he did not progress to Q2.
Looking ahead to the race: The first race of the season at Hockenheim on Sunday (beginning at: 13:15 CET, live on ARD. New start time this season for the race: 13:30 CET) will be run over 42 laps, covering a total distance of 192.108km.
Comments after Qualifying
Christian Vietoris (24, Germany, DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupé): Third, (1:36.194 minutes)
„Third on the grid is a good launch pad for this opening race of the season. We found it difficult to weigh up the relative strengths of the teams after the test sessions, and even this morning when we had all that rain, it wasn’t easy to compare the pace of the cars. Consequently, I’m all the more satisfied with third place. The guys have done a fantastic job, and under very difficult conditions, they made the right choice on the tyres and the timing. My DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupé has been fast all day, which made me optimistic even before qualifying that I might get through to Q4. Even though I could possibly have taken more risks on my lap in the final session, I still met my target and I’m very happy. We can feel very satisfied to have got five Mercedes-Benz drivers into the Top Ten.“
Robert Wickens (24, Canada, STIHL Mercedes AMG C-Coupé): Fourth, (1:36.920 minutes)
„The season-opener has gone very well for me so far. I hope it continues like this. Conditions made today’s qualifying very tough, and not only was speed of the essence but also getting the right timing was crucial. My team and I did everything right and I succeeded in going through to Q4 for the first time. The second row is a good starting position for the race.“
Gary Paffett (32, England, EURONICS Mercedes AMG C-Coupé): Sixth, (1:40.496 minutes)
„We were running well in all conditions. It was definitely the right decision to change to slicks. Unfortunately, the track dried out more quickly than we thought it would and the others simply did better with timing. We certainly had the pace for pole position but to finish sixth is not a bad result, given the tough conditions in this qualifying.“
Pascal Wehrlein (18, Germany, DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupé): Eighth, (1:41.337 minutes)
„We had difficult conditions in qualifying today. Our times in Q1 and Q2 proved that our car is fast. When I crossed the finish line in Q3, I was just a few seconds off being able to put in another flying lap. That was a shame, because I think that Q4 was definitely within the bounds of possibility. But all the same, P8 in my first qualifying is a respectable result.“
Daniel Juncadella (21, Spain, stern Mercedes AMG C-Coupé): Tenth, (1:43.775 minutes)
„To progress into Q3 at my first DTM qualifying is a really nice surprise. Q1 and Q2 went well, even though both times I had cars in front of me on the final lap. Unfortunately, I had a bit of bad luck in Q3. Timing was not ideal, so I could only post one lap on slicks. Nevertheless, we as a team can be pleased with the results. Let's see what we can do tomorrow, when it should be dry.“
Roberto Merhi (22, Spain, THOMAS SABO Mercedes AMG C-Coupé): 20th, (1:50.810 minutes)
„Sadly, that was not my best qualifying session. Track conditions were very tough – it was extremely wet and slippery. Unfortunately, I ran far too wide over the kerbs and lost control of the car. I subsequently spun off track and did some damage. As a result, I could not improve my time sufficiently to make it through into Q2, which would certainly have been a distinct possibility otherwise. Too bad! I’ll now have to attack in the race and try to achieve the best result I can from my position on the grid.“
Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:
„This was a strong team performance from our drivers in the first qualifying session of the year. Five Mercedes-Benz drivers, including four of our Mercedes-Benz Junior drivers made it into the Top 10. This is the first proof that we are on the right track with our philosophy of focusing on promising young drivers. Roberto Merhi lost control of his car in difficult conditions, which is part and parcel of the learning process in the DTM. But I am certain that we will see good race results from all of our drivers in the future and maybe even podiums. Christian drove a superb qualifying under difficult conditions. Now in his third DTM season, he has the experience and speed to be up there with the front-runners. Unfortunately, Gary had some bad luck with the timing. In these changeable conditions, the smallest details can make a big difference. Starting from sixth position on the grid, however, he's still got every chance in the race of finishing on the podium.“
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Credits: Daimler AG
Copyright © 2013, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
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