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Mercedes-Benz B Class – 250,000 Sold

By Alborz Fallah |

Mercedes-Benz has now sold more than 250,000 B Class vehicles. This is an incredible achievement for a vehicle which has tends to produce a “why would you” response from passing motorists!

Mercedes Benz B Class

Lets be honest here, its not a pretty car, apart from the B200, the rest of the range seems a little lackluster and over priced and given Merc’s current reliability issues, it really doesn’t seem like the ideal car.

“The innovative B-Class product concept impresses our customers with its fascinating design and unique blend of spaciousness and high degree of utility. The strong demand for the Sports Tourer is yet another confirmation of our role as the market leader in the premium compact car segment,” said Dr. Klaus Maier, Executive Vice President Mercedes Car Group, responsible for Sales and Marketing.

Then again, out of those 250,000, a third of have met their owners in Germany with Italy, France, Japan and Spain being the other big markets.

If your wondering how Mercedes manages to plug every single hole in the car market, the theory is simple. Even if 0.01 per-cent of people are likely to buy a type of car (say a B-class) the worldwide appeal makes that ratio worth considering. Manufacturers such as GM and Ford are only now catching on to this principle by designing platforms that can easily be converted from right to left hand drive (or vice versa).

One of the selling points of the B-Class has always been, that unlike some Mercedes today, the B-Class is actually made in Germany. The most popular model is the diesel variant, B180CDI (which came to Australia in may last year). One third go for the B 180 CDI, and 20 percent have selected the B 200 CDI.

Although Australian sales are minuscule in comparison with Europe, sales have have grown 35 percent this year (January – April) compared to the same period in 2006. Apart from the look, the B-class is not a bad car, with a five star safety rating – power output of 142kW @ 5000rpm and 280Nm of Torque (0-100Km/h in 7.6secs), the majority of Australians prefer to go with the B200 Turbo for the extra power and comfort.

The Mercedes B 200 CDI’s engine has been in the spotlight for many awards, not only for its power delivery but also for its fuel economy, an average fuel consumption of less than six litres per 100 kilometres.

The question remains though, with the A/B/C/E/G/M/R/S class as well as their AMG variants, just how many models and variants can Mercedes successfully sell?


 

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  • JW

    It may seem like an incredible achievement, until you see the numbers more ‘normal and less overpriced’ cars such as the Camry and Corolla get.

  • Matthew

    Current reliability issues??? In what context? I have owned three W168 A Class Mercedes since 1999 and driven 250,000km in them and NEVER had a “reliability issue”. Compared to the fleet of Holdens and Fords I have overseen, Mercedes are the pinnacle of reliability. These B Class are based on the same innovative and unique sandwich floor principle and engineering concepts.

    You cannot compare a Toyota to a Mercedes in engineering or safety. Safety is now a sexy marketing tool for Toyota and other but Mercedes invented the safety cell in 1952. Mercedes invented ABS, airbags, collapsible steering columns etc etc. Brake assist and ESP have been standard on all Mercedes since 1999.

    For a few extra dollars, I would not trust my life to anyone else. (I get the extra dollars back in brilliant resale value anyway!) But that’s just my first hand experience. I’m sure the cowboy opinions based on no real experience mean so much more.

    Peace.

  • http://yahoo paul

    I am a proud owner of a mercedes benz B200 since late 2005. Superb fuel performance and has several times saved my life with its safety features. It’s a multipurpose car…never pretentious. Lastly, customer service from mercedes is unsurpassed!!! Holden? Toyota? Mazda? Hyundai? No thank you. For few extra bucks, I am more than willing to pay for comfort, reliability, safety and service!!! I am eagerly waiting for their hybrid car for further savings.

  • H

    I love my B-200 so much. I am sure my next car still Mercedes.

  • Steve

    Wow ! had my new 2010 B180 CVT for a month now and absolutely love it ! a great car to drive and own, would highly recommend it. Can’t stop playing with all the gadgets and the Mercedes dealership was great, fantastic service..Well done MB

  • Renee

    Very dissappointed with the 2006 B200 Turbo. As soon as the car was out of warranty it turned into a lemon. As for resale value, forget it… not even Mercedes Benz dealers will buy them. Wish we had never “upgraded” from the A Class which ran perfectly. Service in our area is also very poor from the Mercedes Benz service department. We are now moving on to another make of vehicle due to the issues with the B Class. I expected a lot more of Mercedes Benz.