Mercedes: ‘There is no better hybrid than ours’

- Read all the latest news from the 2015 Detroit motor show here

Mercedes-Benz was not the first company to sell a hybrid car, and it is a long way from leading sales of alternate fuel vehicles.

But that has not stopped the brand's chairman from laying down a bold claim that car maker's hybrid technology is second to none.

Dieter Zetsche told reporters ahead of the 2015 Detroit motor show that his company's championship-winning Formula One prowess had given it an edge in road car development ahead of key rivals.

He says the V8-like performance and frugal efficiency of the new C350 plug-in hybrid, which combines a turbocharged four-cylinder engine with electric motors to make 205kW and 600Nm while using 2.1L/100km, put the brand a step ahead.

 "It's the perfect proof point that Mercedes cars also benefit from our racing experience, there's no tougher competition for hybrid engines than Formula One," he says.

"The pride and knowledge of this technology on the racetrack went straight into the development of our S500 plug-in hybrid and this new C350 plug-in hybrid.

 "I think after this last season it's fair to say there's no better hybrid driveline than ours."

Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg finished first and second in the 2014 formula one championship having won 16 of 19 races throughout the year.

But Mercedes-Benz is not the only company to put its hybrid technology to the test on the race track, as Audi, Toyota and Porsche all compete in the World Endurance Championship with battery-assisted cars that must take on the gruelling 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Audi is the only constructor to have won Le Mans with a hybrid machine.