Mercedes to launch new VITO at the UK Commercial Vehicle Show, at the NEC.

The long-awaited New Vito is launching in the UK at the Commercial Vehicle Show, NEC, Birmingham from 14 to 16 April 2015. With all examples of the vehicle on display across the 1,200m² stand (5D10)– panel van, crew van, Tourer PRO and Tourer SELECT – the New Vito takes centre stage at the event, with start of sales from 17 April 2015.

Steve Bridge, Managing Director, Mercedes-Benz Vans, commented: “The CV Show is the natural choice for unveiling our New Vito for the first time in the UK. We have been long-standing supporters of the event, and it provides a great platform to show off our extensive product range, as well as spend time with existing and potential customers.”

In addition to the New Vito, Mercedes-Benz Vans is showcasing its range of vehicles, including the Citan small city van and the mighty Sprinter, in all guises across two areas – stand 5D10 and in the outside exhibition area adjacent to Hall 5 of the NEC.

Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, Used Approved, Insurance and Service & Parts representatives will also be on-hand to highlight everything from competitive finance options through to Service24h free 30 year roadside assistance.

Mercedes-Benz Trucks is also displaying its range of vehicles at the CV Show, meaning in total across the stand and outside area, Mercedes-Benz will be displaying over 40 commercial vehicles

CHINA/GERMANY RECALL - Mercedes to recall 149,000 E-Class and CLS models due to safety reasons.

Daimler-Benz is recalling about 149,000 Mercedes-Benz cars in China and Germany for safety reasons.

Daimler said insulating panel seals in the engine bay could come loose, and in rare cases could come into contact with hot components. The company said it was offering to secure the panels with four brackets, which would take about 15 minutes and would be free for customers.

Daimler knew of 127,000 affected E-class and CLS vehicles in China and 22,000 in Germany, the automaker said on Monday.

The World Car Awards nominations have been announced.

The journey on The Road to the World Car continues with today’s announcement of the finalists in all five award categories.

This release kicks off the countdown for the 2015 World Car Awards (the WCAs) prize-giving ceremony to be hosted by the New York International Auto Show (NYIAS), Bridgestone Corporation and Autoneum on Thursday, April 2, 2015. Winners of the 2015 World Car of the Year, World Luxury Car, World Performance Car, World Green Car and World Car Design of the Year will all be declared at this time.

A jury of 75 distinguished international automotive journalists selected the following finalists in the World Car of the Year, World Luxury Car and World Performance Car categories by secret ballot, based on their experience with each candidate as part of their professional work. For more details about our jurors, and their outlets please visit our web site: www.wcoty.com and click < Jurors.

The international accounting firm KPMG tabulated the jurors’ ballots and announced the finalists on the evening of February 9.   

The 2015 World Car of the Year (WCOTY) will be selected from the following ten finalists listed in alphabetical order:

• BMW 2 Series Active Tourer                  
• Citroën C4 Cactus
• Ford Mustang
• Hyundai Genesis
• Jeep Renegade
• Mazda2
• Mercedes-Benz C-Class
• MINI 5 door / MINI 4 door
• Nissan Qashqai
• Volkswagen Passat

The 2015 World Luxury Car will be chosen from one of these top ten finalists:

• BMW i8
• BMW X6
• Cadillac ATS Coupe
• Cadillac Escalade / ESV
• Kia K900
• Lexus NX
• Lexus RC
• Lincoln MKC
• Mercedes-Benz S Coupe
• Range Rover Autobiography Black LWB

The 2015 World Performance Car top ten finalists are:

• Audi S1
• Audi S3
• Audi TT / TTS
• Bentley Continental GT Speed
• BMW M4 Coupe / M3 Sedan
• Corvette Z06
• Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat
• Jaguar F-TYPE R Coupe
• Lexus RC-F
• Mercedes-Benz AMG GT

The 2015 World Green Car category is handled differently. Five experts in “green” technology were appointed by the World Car Awards Steering Committee to extensively review all documentation and specs associated with each candidate on the list of nominees.  The experts then create a short-list of finalists for review by the 75 jurors in their second round of voting this month. 

The finalists for 2015 are:

• BMW i8
• Hyundai x35 / Tucson Fuel Cell
• Kia Soul EV
• Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine
• Volkswagen Golf GTE

The five experts on the advisory panel are in alphabetical order: Phil Berg (USA - PopularMechanics.com); Richard Bremner (UK - Autocar magazine), Claus-Peter Koeth (Germany - automobil-industrie.de); Yumi Kawabata (Japan - environmental journalist) and John Voelcker (USA - GreenCarReports.com).

Cars eligible for the 2015 World Car Design of the Year award are taken from the list of World Car candidates or may be included as a stand-alone entry provided the vehicle is available in quantities of at least 10 in one major market during the period beginning January 1, 2014 and ending May 31, 2015.  Candidates may be pre-production or all-new production.

Again, a design panel consisting of five highly respected world design experts was asked to first review each candidate, then establish a short-list of recommendations for the jurors. The design experts are: Masatsugu Arimoto (Japan – Freelance design journalist); Silvia Baruffaldi (Italy – Auto & Design magazine); Gernot Bracht (Germany – Pforzheim Design School); Sam Livingstone (UK - Car Design Research and Royal College of Art) and Tom Matano (USA - School of Industrial Design at Academy of Art University in San Francisco).

The five finalists chosen for the jurors are:

• BMW 2 Series Active Tourer
• Citroën C4 Cactus
• Mercedes-Benz C-Class
• Porsche Macan
• Volvo XC90

The Road to the World Car began in Paris on October 2, followed by a stop in Los Angeles for a test-drive of the North American contenders in November, and continues with the finalists’ announcement. The next stop is at the Geneva International Auto Show on Tuesday, March 3 when the top three finalists in all categories will be announced.   The journey ends at the New York International Auto Show on Thursday, April 2^nd, 2015 when all winners are declared.

Mercedes readies all new Brazilian plant for C-Class and GLA-Class production.

• Start of production with the C-Class in the first quarter of 2016
• Markus Schäfer, Member of the Divisional Board Mercedes-Benz Cars, Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management: “Local production will even better allow us to tap the potentials of the emerging Brazilian market and to respond more flexibly to the wishes of our customers.”
• Philipp Schiemer, President of Mercedes-Benz do Brasil and CEO Latin America: “With the new Mercedes-Benz plant in Iracemápolis, we will be the only company producing the full vehicle range in Latin America – from passenger cars and vans to trucks and buses.”

Mercedes-Benz has celebrated the groundbreaking ceremony for a new passenger cars plant in Brazil and thereby continues to further expand its global production network. The new Mercedes-Benz plant in Iracemápolis near São Paulo will start production of the C-Class in the first quarter of 2016, and production of the GLA compact SUV will follow in the middle of the year.

“Local production will even better allow us to tap the potentials of the emerging Brazilian market and to respond more flexibly to the wishes of our customers. In the first stage, we are aiming for an annual capacity of 20,000 vehicles. If the market will develop as hoped for, the plant has the potential for a further significant expansion in the future,” said Markus Schäfer, Member of the Divisional Board Mercedes-Benz Cars, Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management, on the occasion of the groundbreaking ceremony. 

The event was attended by numerous guests of honor from the areas of politics, administration, and economy as well as Philipp Schiemer, President of Mercedes-Benz do Brasil and CEO Latin America, and Dimitris Psillakis, Head of Passenger Cars Sales, Mercedes-Benz do Brasil.

Mercedes-Benz is investing a total of BRL 500 million in the Iracemápolis plant with an annual capacity of 20,000 vehicles. Until the start of production, about 600 new jobs will be created at the plant. In addition, some 3,000 jobs are expected to be generated in the region predominantly with suppliers and service providers.

“With the new Mercedes-Benz plant in Iracemápolis, we will be the only company producing the full vehicle range in Latin America – from passenger cars and vans to trucks and buses. The new plant in Iracemápolis is further proof to our commitment to Brazil. It also demonstrates we keep on investing to fulfil the wishes of our customers in the best possible manner. We are positive about the potentials of the Brazilian passenger cars market,” said Philipp Schiemer.

In terms of selection and recruitment of its employees, Mercedes-Benz is cooperating with SENAI, the Brazilian national service for industrial training, which has more than 800 training centers nationwide. SENAI has set up a new training center in Iracemápolis that will start training in the first half of 2015 already. The recruitment process with a focus on the Iracemápolis region will start in the second quarter of 2015.

“Together with SENAI, we want to recruit the best people for our plant. Additionally, we will send selected employees to our existing plants in Juiz de Fora, Germany, Hungary, and India, for targeted trainings. With this, we are ensuring the high Mercedes-Benz quality standards,” explained Markus Schäfer.

The Iracemápolis plant’s level of automation will be significantly lower than in traditional Mercedes-Benz plants. “Machines don’t develop, build, or sell cars –people do. That’s why our focus is on our employees. With this approach, Iracemápolis will be one of the most flexible plants in our global production network, indicating our future trend,” said Schäfer.

BusinessCar awards its car of the year title to the Mercedes-Benz C-Class.

BusinessCar Magazine’s 2015 Car of the Year is the Mercedes-Benz C-class.

The fleet publication’s awards carry particular weight because they are the only accolades in the industry to be decided entirely by the readership of BusinessCar magazine and BusinessCar.co.uk, and the C-class took the top spot ahead of Peugeot’s impressive new 308.

BMW continued to show its strength in the fleet market by taking two headline awards, including Manufacturer of the Year for the fifth year running and Green Model of the Year with its pioneering i3 electric supermini.

Leasing company Alphabet took the remaining headline award as Service Supplier of the Year.

“The new C-class has propelled Mercedes-Benz into the middle of the fiercely competitive premium upper medium saloon marketplace and massive improvements over the previous model have meant the company has picked up its first ever Business Car of the Year prize,” said Paul Barker, BusinessCar editor.

“The C-class currently offers the most efficient diesel in the sector and there’s also a 94g/km hybrid, plus the 48g/km plug-in coming in April 2015.

“But there’s more to the C-class than just efficiency gains. The classier and more sporty looks combine with a serious focus on whole life costs to propel the new model into fleet heartland territory.”

Barker continued: “BMW’s popularity with the fleet industry is clearly demonstrated with its win as Manufacturer of the Year and this is backed up by four car category wins overall.  It highlights BMW as a brand getting it right for fleet across its range, with cars that are appealing, good to drive and great value to run.

“The corporate market is extremely competitive with some incredible products available to help businesses carry out their work. Winners at this year’s awards should be proud that BusinessCar’s readers have picked them out as the best in the industry.”

Other notable winners include The AA, which picked up three awards in the important Accident Management, Risk Management and Vehicle Recovery categories. Volkswagen also picked up multiple awards with wins in the mainstream lower medium, mini-MPV and mainstream 4x4 categories for its Golf, Touran and Tiguan respectively, while Ford, Vauxhall, Hyundai, Kwik-Fit and BCA were also among the winners.

Mercedes C-Class C300 BlueTEC Hybrid named SME Car Of The Year Award for Best Company Car for Tax

• C 300 BlueTEC Hybrid awarded Best SME Company Car for Tax
• The Awards celebrate the best company cars in the market
• Over 14,000 examples of the new C-Class Saloon and Estate have been registered since June

The 2015 SME Company Car of the Year Award for Best Company Car for Tax has been awarded to the C 300 BlueTEC Hybrid – praised by the judges for its low running costs and tax-efficiency. 

In announcing the C-Class Award, Ralph Morton, Editorial Director at Business Car Manager, commented: “The new Mercedes-Benz compact executive models don’t come along very often and the new car’s sleek styling and sport drive are sure to lure company car drivers away from rivals. If the look and the way the car drives doesn’t tempt you, then the low running cost of our Best SME Company Car for Tax will. 

The C 300 BlueTEC Hybrid, which as its name suggests is a diesel-electric hybrid, can return up to 78.4 mpg and it has CO₂emissions of 94 g/km, putting the car in just the 11 per cent company car tax band. For company car drives, this really is a fantastically tax-efficient way to drive an executive car.”

Sally Dennis, Head of Fleet, Mercedes-Benz UK, added: “We’re delighted that the C 300 BlueTEC Hybrid has been awarded Best SME Company Car for Tax. It demonstrates our focus on offering low-emission, efficient vehicles to our Fleet customers as we continue to expand our Hybrid, Plug-in Hybrid and Electric range.”

The C 300 BlueTEC Hybrid – available as a Saloon and Estate is priced from £35,045 OTR and £38,240 OTR, respectively. Its four-cylinder diesel engine and compact electric motor generates an output of 204 + 27 hp to allow it to combine performance and efficiency.

The C-Class range is set to expand with the C 350 Plug-In Hybrid.

Following on from the S 500 Plug-in Hybrid, the C 350 Plug-in Hybrid is also available as an Estate and is capable of covering a range of 19 miles in all-electric mode. It returns 134.5 mpg and emits just 48 g/km CO₂-- despite a power output of 279 hp. It’s due to arrive in the UK from April 2015.

The high-class interior of the C-Class – launched in the UK in June 2014 – is styled on the S-Class and includes high-quality, high-grade materials and trim elements, and an innovative touchpad enabling intuitive operation of all head-unit functions using finger gestures.  

The new C-Class continues to grow in the UK with over 14,000 examples registered in 2014.

2014 Top 30 brands in Europe, like the UK, no real surprises in the top ten.

In 2014, the Volkswagen, PSA and Renault groups remained Europe’s largest car manufactures with VW, Ford and Opel / Vauxhall the best-selling car brands. In an expanding European car market, all of the top 20 top-selling car marques increased car sales in 2014. The VW Golf was again Europe’s favorite car model in 2014.

New passenger vehicle registrations in 2014 in the European Union and EFTA countries increased by 5.4% to 13,006,451 cars.

Best-Selling Car Manufacturers in Europe in 2014 (Full Year)

The largest carmakers and marques in the European Union (EU) and EFTA countries in 2014 according to new passenger vehicle registration data released by the ACEA were:

	Share 2014	Share 2013	Sold 2014	Sold 2013	% Change
ALL BRANDS			13,006,451	12,336,883	5.4
VW Group	25.5	25.1	3,313,435	3,095,392	7
-VOLKSWAGEN	12.5	12.6	1,619,921	1,553,251	4.3
-AUDI	5.6	5.6	726,059	694,600	4.5
-SKODA	4.5	4.1	582,140	511,172	13.9
-SEAT	2.5	2.3	328,334	289,356	13.5
-Others	0.4	0.4	56,981	47,013	21.2
PSA Group	10.7	10.9	1,390,900	1,341,221	3.7
-PEUGEOT	6	6	782,855	739,944	5.8
-CITROEN	4.7	4.9	608,045	601,277	1.1
RENAULT Group	9.5	8.9	1,237,606	1,095,707	13
-RENAULT	6.7	6.5	874,504	801,273	9.1
-DACIA	2.8	2.4	363,102	294,434	23.3
FORD	7.3	7.3	947,951	901,343	5.2
OPEL Group	7.1	7.9	924,275	968,448	-4.6
-OPEL/VAUXHALL	6.8	6.7	885,372	824,787	7.3
-CHEVROLET	0.3	1.2	38,560	143,274	-73.1
BMW Group	6.4	6.4	833,312	794,697	4.9
-BMW	5.2	5.2	676,410	641,196	5.5
-MINI	1.2	1.2	156,902	153,501	2.2
FCA Group	5.9	6	767,856	741,788	3.5
-FIAT	4.5	4.7	586,271	573,674	2.2
-LANCIA/CHRYSLER	0.6	0.6	72,168	74,847	-3.6
-ALFA ROMEO	0.5	0.5	59,198	64,510	-8.2
-JEEP	0.3	0.2	41,378	24,391	69.6
DAIMLER Group	5.4	5.5	708,002	682,651	3.7
-MERCEDES	5	5	652,373	617,244	5.7
-SMART	0.4	0.5	55,629	65,407	-14.9
TOYOTA Group	4.3	4.4	558,459	545,593	2.4
-TOYOTA	4.1	4.2	527,380	521,742	1.1
-LEXUS	0.2	0.2	31,079	23,851	30.3
NISSAN	3.7	3.4	477,183	422,043	13.1
HYUNDAI	3.3	3.4	424,467	422,444	0.5
KIA	2.7	2.8	353,719	339,306	4.2
VOLVO	2	1.9	254,610	230,063	10.7
MAZDA	1.3	1.2	175,028	147,461	18.7
SUZUKI	1.3	1.2	162,828	152,341	6.9
JAGUAR LAND ROVER Group	1.1	1.1	144,442	136,262	6
-LAND ROVER	0.9	0.9	115,826	108,865	6.4
-JAGUAR	0.2	0.2	28,616	27,397	4.4
HONDA	1	1.1	133,268	140,061	-4.9
MITSUBISHI	0.8	0.7	102,364	81,861	25

Top-Selling Carmakers in Europe in 2014

In 2014, the Volkswagen Group expanded it lead as Europe’s top car manufacturing group to more than a quarter of the total new passenger car market. The group’s top-selling marques, Volkswagen and Audi, slightly underperformed the broader market but Skoda and Seat showed strong growth. The “others” in the VW Group is mostly Porsche but also include luxury brands Bugatti, Bentley, and Lamborghini. (Porsche had its best year ever in 2014.)

The PSA Group remained Europe’s second largest car manufacturer despite underperforming the market. Peugeot sales were stronger than the market average but Citroen sales hardly increased in 2014.

The Renault Group had a strong performance in 2014. Renault sales were up 9% but the budget Dacia brand saw sales increase by nearly a quarter.

Ford regained fourth place in Europe in 2014 from the GM Group. Ford sales were just below the market average but strong sales of Opel (Vauxhall) could not make up for the losses of Chevrolet, which withdrew from the European market during the year.

In the BMW Group, BMW sales were just above market average while Mini sales lagged behind, largely a result of a model change during the year.

Sales of the FCA Group were below market average with a mixed performance for the group’s brands. Fiat sales were fairly flat while Lancia / Chrysler and Alfa Romeo were two of only five brands with negative growth in Europe in 2014. However, Jeep (+70%) was the strongest performer of all brands in Europe in 2014.

The Daimler Group also had mixed results. Mercedes Benz sales were just above market average while Smart (-15%) was the worst performing car brand in Europe (apart from Chevrolet). The launch of the new Smart at the end of 2014 should help the brand in 2015.

Strong sales in Europe in 2014 allowed Nissan to overtake Hyundai that had flat sales. Kia sales were also below market average.

Volvo sales increased by 11% while strong growth allowed Mazda to overtake Suzuki in Europe in 2014. Jaguar and Land Rover increased sales but not at the same stellar rate as in previous years.

Honda was the second-weakest performing brand in Europe while Mitsubishi increased sales by a quarter.

Best-Selling Car Brands in Europe in 2014

There were no changes in the rank order of the top 10 most popular car marques in Europe in 2014. Skoda missed out on the top 10 list by only around 4,000 cars. The order remained as follow:

	Brand	Cars Sold in 2014
1	VOLKSWAGEN	1,619,921
2	FORD	947,951
3	OPEL/VAUXHALL	885,372
4	RENAULT	874,504
5	PEUGEOT	782,855
6	AUDI	726,059
7	BMW	676,410
8	MERCEDES	652,373
9	CITROEN	608,045
10	FIAT	586,271